


Unravel

by Ayamuri



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Humor, Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-10-27 20:31:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10816182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayamuri/pseuds/Ayamuri
Summary: Noctis leads a relatively successful rock band and has gotten comfy being at the top, both as royalty and on the music charts. However, both lifestyles are rocked (pun intended) when numerous scandals make their way into headlines, pushing the group to its limits. Is there any way to recover or are they already doomed to become has-beens?





	1. Before the Fall

Since this is a comedy, I'm taking some liberties and making it slightly alternate-universe (which probably goes without saying). Niflheim's hold on the world won't be so tight and that way, the boys can travel freely. This slightly crack-ish fic was inspired in part by everyone saying how uniform the characters looked, but also by Weezer's “Undone—The Sweater Song”. It brings to mind the sound of a fledgling band, perfect for one as young as Noct :)

 

* * *

**Before the Fall**

"This is Steve Jones here from Rolling Stone magazine and today, we have the Lucian prince himself in with us along with his band Royal Pain in the Ass. Noctis, this is our second time meeting and it's been, what, three years?"

Noctis nervously crossed a leg, sitting forward on the thinning couch cushion that'd seen one too many hind-quarters. Even having the rest of the group next to him didn't help much to hide his anxiety. This was the make or break interview and he knew the record label was scrutinizing him to ensure he gave a good pitch. "Yeah, it'll be about three years here in a few weeks from when we last talked before the previous album came out…"

The journalist, Steve, nodded, quickly glancing at his notes. "Right, the album, _Nifl These Nutz_ , ended up being quite the financial success though it caused a lot of controversy and was critically mocked. Looking back now, do you have any regrets about that album?"

Before Noctis could respond, Prompto shouted out, "Hell no! We stand by our message to the Empire! Fuck Niflheim! Wait, we can cuss, right? I was told swears were okay…" he glanced around sheepishly. Ignis reached across Gladio to give him a light tap on the back and a warning look.

Noctis gave a hollow laugh, feeling his palms begin to sweat. He was used to being in the spotlight from his upbringing but this was probably more important to him than even ruling the country. He wanted RPA to succeed. Inheriting the kingdom was his birthright but _this,_ this he'd had to truly work for. And so, he put on a smile and laughed amicably at his past, the best thing he could do.

"I must agree with Prompto that we do stick by our message but I can definitely understand the criticism. Our debut album had half the tracks being rock-rap in an age where that genre has long sailed, and the other half being angsty screaming. But at the time, Prompto and I had just formed the group in high school and it was just the two of us letting out frustration at the current state of things. Now that we've added Gladio and Ignis, their input has been great in steering us in a better direction." He gave his sweetest smile to his friends and the other two nodded acknowledgement back.

Steve instead gave a knowing smile. "So you agree that the album was shit?"

Noctis heard Prompto actually growl but ignored him. "Yeah, it was. It's exactly what you'd expect two seventeen year olds to come up with. This new album, _Insomniac,_ is completely different and just the title alone shows how much work went into it and how much we really wanted to get it right this time." He thought that last sentence over, realized it could've been worded better and then did his utmost to hide his embarrassment. _Please let him ask a question to someone else…but not Prompto!_

"Prompto, you seem to prefer the old sound," Steve said and Noctis internally screamed. "Does that mean you're not a fan of this new album?"

Prompto gave the man an affronted look, as though to question how dare he ask such a thing. "I'm a fan of everything we create! I love music and that doesn't mean just mainstream junk or one to two genres. I'm open to any and everything and so, I love our first album because it was chaotic but real. That resonated with a lot of listeners. Our new album is just as real…we just decided to make our lyrics understandable this time!"

"Okay, and to Gladiolus and Ignis, I've heard you two have been friends with the prince since he was young. With that being said, was it a hard choice to join the group considering its brief history or was it an easy sale since you've known him for so long?"

Ignis finally spoke and his different accent immediately caused Steve's expression to shift to one of intrigue…as was usually the case when he spoke. "I, for one, was not a fan of the name but Noctis—Noct, as we call him—made it clear that he wasn't budging on it." He paused for a moment to cast the prince his own rueful smile, showing there were no hard feelings. "However, I could see how much this new music endeavor meant to him and so I was happy to offer my services in whichever way I could."

"He's too damn modest, this man can play so many instruments, I've lost count," Gladio said, slapping Ignis on the back hard enough to knock his glasses off, giving him flashbacks of high school. "I had to fight with chocobo-butt over there—"

"MY HAIR DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A CHOCOBO'S BUTT!" Prompto screamed.

"—In order to play the drums, but Iggy helped to straighten that out. Noct needed a backup singer and a bass guitarist and lookie who can actually do both: blondie here. I'm a drummer through and through so the switch was perfect. Now we actually look and sound like a band." As he was sitting next to Prompto, he ruffled his hair but the blond continued to sulk.

Steve turned back to Noctis, and this time he had finally settled his nerves. "Alright, before we go, Noctis, what would you like to tell everyone about your new album? Do you think this can bring back those that were distanced by the first one?"

Here it goes. "I think those that were initially unimpressed will truly like this one. This time, there's something there for a lot of rock fans." Code for it's more mainstream. "The words are still just as heartfelt but the music definitely has a polished feel." AKA, the label forced him to have ghost writers and composers. "So, I highly recommend everyone to take a listen. It can be previewed on iTunes."

"Alright, there you have it!" said Steve, shaking everyone's hands. "Go buy the new album, _Insomniac,_ in stores April 4th!" At the mention of the date, the group held their fingers up in the Trekkie Vulcan sign, the fingers split to form a V, or 4/4. Another requirement by the label. "I'm Steve Jones from Rolling Stone magazine and I'll see you next time!"

**THREE YEARS AGO**

Trying his hardest to ignore the usual stares that accompanied his presence, Noctis meandered down the school hallways, nibbling on the last of a fruit tart that Ignis had made that morning. School had now ended with club activities starting up, but he'd saved the treat just for a time like right now, something to eat as he thought of what he felt like doing with the rest of his afternoon. He was technically signed up with the chess club but it was dull in comparison to, say, video games. There were already more than enough members to where his presence wasn't necessary to keep the club running; he only joined because being in a club was mandatory.

He'd just decided on going to the arcade for the third day in a row when he heard a smatter of drumming coming from a room at the end of the hall. He peeked in the small rectangular window on the door and was surprised to see Prompto sitting at a drum set. The blond counted to four by clicking the sticks together and again played the same piece. Noctis had to admit that it wasn't half bad. Except for photography, his best friend had proven to be hopeless at everything else: school, girls, cooking, girls, not tripping over his own two feet, and did he mention girls?

But this…this drumming. It resonated with Noctis, and he closed his eyes to feel the beat, tapping his foot along. After Prompto missed a note and stopped again, he pulled open the door. "Sounding nice," he said by way of greeting, walking across the room to check out the other instruments.

"Please tell me you didn't hear all of that," Prompto groaned, beginning to rise from his seat. "I'm self-taught so I know I suck. My family only funded my guitar lessons but I had to sneak and learn drums so as to not wake the neighborhood."

"Hey, it's cool," Noctis reassured him, tuning an electric guitar, but then noticed him rising. "Wait, let's try something. Since you play by ear, try to play along with this." It wasn't the right guitar for the song, but he strummed the opening notes of _Seven Nation Army._

Prompto sat back down and fell into step with him, announcing, "This is an easy one. The drumming doesn't have a lot of variation." As they continued, he began to sing the lyrics.

Noctis tentatively joined him, hoping the music drowned out his voice. He then wondered what was the purpose of even singing along if he was going to be quiet. Knowing he was going to sound terrible and toughening himself up to not care, he raised his voice, doing his best to mimic the lead singer of The White Stripes. He got so into it that he didn't even realize he'd sung the entire song until he came to the ending and looked over at Prompto to see his friend staring at him with wide eyes.

"That…was…amazing! Dude, fuck the chess club, come join the music club!" Prompto said earnestly.

It was highly tempting but then Noctis remembered something. "This oh-so-prestigious academy only has a school orchestra. I guess maybe someone tried to get a music club together and that's why there's other kinds of instruments in here but looks like it failed."

That didn't daunt Prompto, who jumped up to run over and shake him by the shoulders. "Then we'll be the new club that rises from the ashes! C'mon, man, there wasn't a photography club so I got stuck with the fucking knitting club! It's full of girls who knit and talk shit about the other girls at school. It's the weirdest thing, they're like a pack of savage teenage grandmas! Creating a music club would save you and me from Afterschool Hell!"

"You actually attend that club?" Noctis snorted. "I think I've been to the chess club once and that was to announce I was joining. After that, I just do whatever I want." Well, he tried to anyways. Unfortunately, both Ignis and Gladio knew he was to be at club practice during this hour and did not hesitate to sometimes turn up unannounced, ensuring he was in the building. It was almost as though for having lost one mother, he'd gained two more.

Continuing though, Noctis said, "It's actually too late in the semester to start a new club anyways. Everyone has already picked theirs. But hey, I don't go to the chess club and you don't go to the Bitch-and-Knit club anyways so it still leaves us time to practice." Wait, practice? For what?

Prompto punched him lightly in the arm, giving a cheer. "Yeah, it still works out! Seriously though, too bad you have to be king someday. With your voice, you could make a killer rock band. Or just go all acoustic and emotional. Chicks dig that stuff."

Imagining it made Noctis feel flattered but then he focused on the 'king' part. "Who says I can't do both? The Rock n' Roll King! Oh, wait…I think I just heard Elvis roll in his grave." He shook his head, kneeling down to unplug the guitar and set it back against the wall. "I don't think Lucis is ready for that either way. It'd be a royal pain in the ass to juggle both."

"Wait a sec…royal pain in the…it's perfect!" Prompto declared, shaking Noctis in a way that only he had the right to do. "Royal Pain in the Ass, that'll be our name! It's genius!"

Noctis had to admit that it did have an ironic ring to it. "And now we roll the credits," he smiled.

"Yeah, roll credits and add a teaser at the end like a _Marvel_ movie. This is only the beginning!"

And so it was.

* * *

Oh, and…in case any of you were hoping for relationships in this story, I believe I will hold off on that for this one. However, considering Square Enix handed us this very obvious yaoi cannon fodder on a silver platter (I swear they're aware of this!), I eventually will take advantage of them.


	2. The Road Less Traveled

This chapter has little to do with the overall plot but gives bits and pieces of info that will appear later on. Mainly, this chapter is for the giggles and I had a blast writing it.

* * *

**The Road Less Traveled**

"That went rather well, all things considered," Ignis reassured the group as they rode back from the interview. "I think the record label will be pleased with how you handled things. Though, Prompto, do be more careful in matters related to the Empire. We've drawn enough attention as is," he added with a heavy sigh.

From next to him, Prompto crossed his arms and looked away. "I meant everything I said. I'm not taking it back."

"Never asked you to. I only request you to be more careful about what you say. It affects not just you but Noct as well. Speaking of which, Noct, any input?" Ignis looked into the rearview mirror at the prince.

Noctis replied with a snore.

"Forget I asked," the bespectacled man muttered.

"Either way, I think it was enough to win us back a little more control for our next album," Gladio said, reading a book illuminated by the multitude of lights in Insomnia. "You guys really screwed things up with the first album and now they don't trust us. Honestly, I'm ready to just renegotiate the current contract. Or better yet, make our own label."

"Ooh, that's a great idea!" Prompto began to turn around in his seat, but was immediately forced back down by Ignis roughly tugging his shirt. "Noct and I should've done that to begin with! But…we don't know the first thing about a record label and we were scared we wouldn't have gotten much airtime if we released it ourselves." He bit a corner of his lip, remembering those uncertain early days when they'd crossed their fingers, eyes and toes that they'd get a record deal. They now had what they wanted…but at a massive cost to their creative freedom.

"I'll ask around and see if I can get in contact with someone else in the biz," Gladio promised. "Though having a label means we'd also need to sign other artists, which might turn out to be a pain in the—"

"THAT'S IT!" Ignis suddenly shouted, snapping his fingers.

The loud exclamation woke Noctis with the wide and frightened expression of one snapped suddenly out of sleep. He gave a single, confusing utterance of "No it's not!" before summoning the armiger…in the car. The windows of the Regalia shattered with various angles being punctured by the weapons as the other three occupants began to scream. The car swerved wildly as Ignis' view was obstructed in the flurry.

"Noct, wake up!" Gladio demanded, shaking him roughly to bring him fully to consciousness. Noctis replied by taking his primary weapon, the Engine Blade, and throwing it out the window. A second later, all that remained in his spot was a ghostly apparition of his form, still looking alert and simultaneously befuddled.

"That bastard ditched us!" Prompto accused, watching as the prince tumbled into the middle of the road, causing multiple other vehicles to swerve around him.

With him though, he took the armiger, which cleared Ignis' view only in time for the man to slam into a fire hydrant. The all-directional airbags engaged, closing in on them from everywhere and drowning them in a white puff.

Gladio was the first to react, using a pocket knife to slash the marshmallow monstrosity back. Getting out, he instantly dashed off back the way they'd come, looking for Noctis. He found him rather easily…a body lying forlorn in the street.

"No…" he breathed and with no care to the oncoming traffic, he ran to the young man, holding up his body that suddenly felt so light and lifeless.

Noctis had fallen back asleep.

"WAKE YOUR ASS UP!" Gladio commanded and this time, Noctis jumped fully awake.

"What happened…?" His eyes darted around, flinching as a vehicle rode dangerously close. He covered his ears as several cars honked loudly with the motorists throwing colorful epithets for them to move out the way.

Gladio scooped him up bridal style and carried him to the sidewalk, depositing him down none too gently. "You and the Royal Arms, that's what! You summoned them in the car! You better hope Ignis and Prompto aren't dead!"

He turned to go back to the car, but paused and whipped back towards the prince. He snatched the young man's face in both hands and suddenly looked him over quickly but carefully, checking for contusions, abrasions or anything else troubling. He grabbed his arms and did the same and finished by pulling up his shirt, nodding at his relatively unmarred form. "Good," he declared and this time set out for the others. Noctis followed, wrapping his arms around himself and feeling rather violated.

Just as they reached the vehicle, the driver-side door opened up and Ignis stumbled out. "My glasses…" he lamented, holding the broken pieces.

The passenger door opened and Prompto spilled to the ground like goo. "Goodbye, cruel world!" he wailed dramatically before "dying" with an anti-climactic "Bleh."

Gladio walked over to him and withdrew a Phoenix Down from his pocket, breaking it over his body. "I hereby raise the dead. Get up, we don't have time for this." He snatched him up by an arm as a means of helping him to his feet.

Noctis walked towards them slowly, as though not believing they were actually still alive. "Guys…I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into me, I just—"

His phone began to ring and he looked at the display: Dad. Swallowing, he pressed the answer button.

"Noctis Lucis Caelum, 114th heir to the Lucian throne, report to the Citadel _immediately!_ " Regis thundered, loud enough for all of them to hear it.

"How do you even know?!" Were Noct's first words, but just as they came out, he saw himself on the phone on one of the major public screens in the city. Nearby, a news truck was already filming the wreckage with several other screens replaying back clips of the incident. He saw his own face go meek as he whispered, "Yes, sir…"

Already, Ignis had rummaged their few belongings from the car and had hailed them a taxi. Noctis climbed in, sliding down to shield himself from view, already dreading the upcoming conversation.

~.~.~

"I've had that car since I was your age and you just…you wrecked it!" The king said with more than a hint of hysteria, all his kingly composure gone. "How'd this even happen?"

"It was my fault, Your Majesty, I—" Ignis began but Regis cut him off, addressing only Noctis.

"Just what we need, a story running about the prince joyriding with his friends when they hit a fire hydrant. They'll think you were on drugs or drinking, which will bring both my parenting and my leadership into question. I hope you're satisfied," Regis fretted, pacing back and forth while rubbing a hand continuously down his beard.

"As I was saying, Your Majesty, it was me—" Ignis tried again but to no avail.

"Why couldn't it have been your car?" Regis complained and then caught himself when both Ignis and Noctis snapped their eyes to him. "Oh gods, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! I—shit, I need a drink," he finally deflated, tiring himself out. He stumbled into a seat and a filled glass was immediately placed into his hand by a nearby servant. Taking a hearty swallow, he weakly waved a hand in Noctis' direction. "I can't even really punish you either. You're an adult. Actually, yes I can. I'm selling back the Star of Lucis."

"Dad, no!" Noct finally responded, slamming his hands on his father's desk. "That was my birthday present! You're not allowed to renege on those!"

"The hell I can't," Regis scoffed but then he looked up at those watery, pleading blue eyes and his heart softened. Noctis had always been his weak spot and Noctis with puppy eyes was a downright sin. "Alright, fine. I wouldn't be able to fetch nearly the amount to cover the damages anyways. These modern cars lose value way too quickly. But you do owe me! I'm having it towed to Hammerhead in hopes that my friend Cid can repair it but if not…the Star of Lucis is mine."

If his father still owned it, that meant he could still drive it. Knowing this was the best deal he was going to get, Noct agreed. "Alright, I'll use the sales of our album to repair the car. But, um…we left the scene of an accident. Do I need to make a statement?" The thought of seeing himself again on the massive screens made his heart race.

"My advisor, Clarus, is handling what he can but the police will certainly need to talk to you and Ignis and do a drug test. Cor will go with you to legally represent you."

Noctis wasn't surprised. Back when Royal Pain in the Ass was formed, it was Cor that had stepped forward to become their manager. Though he preferred more of a "hands off" approach so as to not constrict them, he was there when it really counted. Such as now.

Two raps on the door and the man himself was ushered in. He gave a bow to all present, gesturing out the room by using his arm drawn across his chest. "Come along, Your Highness. The boys in blue await."

Noctis numbly followed him out the Citadel with Ignis trailing along.

~.~.~

The police officer cowered back in a corner, doing his best to avoid the whirling of the armiger as Noctis conjured it a second time, though it had been at the behest of said officer. Even with video evidence showing Noctis warping out of the car, the man hadn't believed magical weapons could appear out of thin air. The prince was sure he was now a believer.

With a swipe of his arm, the weapons disappeared and the officer fell weakly to his knees. Seeing him, Noctis tried so summon some pity but he was exhausted from the long day. "You have our statements which match most of what's in the videos, mine and Ignis' drug tests were negative and you've also seen my family's Royal Arms. Am I free to go now?"

"Y-yeah…you're good," the officer trembled, looking rather scarred.

"Finally!" Noctis rolled his eyes and stomped out the interrogation room. Cor followed him but Ignis was kind enough to slip the policeman a potion.

"Sip this, it'll calm you down," he said kindly and followed the other two as they signed out at the front desk. Heading out the front doors, he saw fit to inform the prince, "Your stunt caused me to now have a police record. I was the driver so I'm the one at fault. This is something I certainly had hoped to avoid in my lifetime."

"I'll have it expunged," Cor said casually, unlocking the door to his own vehicle.

Sitting next to him in the passenger seat, Ignis cut his eyes across him. "Dare I ask how?"

Cor replied back with a gruff, "I know a guy."

Ignis was silent for a moment before getting up his nerve. "Would this be… _legal_?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to," was Cor's final comment.

And with that, Ignis said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Noct had promptly fallen back asleep once again.

* * *

I likely don't need to clarify this, but the Star of Lucis was the Audi R8 given for Noct's 20th birthday, the age where he became an adult as the game goes by Japan's standard for adulthood. This car was featured in the _Kingsglaive_ movie. I honestly intended for it to be this car that Noct wrecked but it doesn't have a backseat to fit everyone so his precious baby was spared :)

I'll try to have the next chapter align more with the plot but this is a comedy story so be prepared for lots of shenanigans either way.


	3. Presentation is Paramount

Go ahead and read this chapter and chase your daily woes away for a bit :)

* * *

**Presentation is Paramount**

"Pretty cool of Cor to get us a gig at the Galdin Quay, of all places," said Prompto the next day as they rode in a stock car belonging to the Citadel. This one, unfortunately, did not possess a retractable roof and so they flew along the barren highways with the windows down, Ignis refusing to crank the AC past level one to conserve gas. "I mean, I've seen pictures, but it doesn't really seem like the kind of place people go to hear fledgling rock bands, you know?" He turned his head to look over his shoulder, waiting for backup.

"I think it's like what we experienced with the first album," Noctis groaned. "They're curious because it's _me._ Few people liked the first album but it sold well because everyone was curious to know what kind of music the prince would make. Now they're curious to see me perform live in person. I think that's even the only reason the label is keeping us around. They know they can make money off of my inherent fame."

" _Or_ ," Gladio shot him a look, "It could be because you've added two new awesome members who refuse to perform that horrible crap you produced the last time and are actually working to make all of this _better_."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's the first one," Noctis said with absolutely no signs of sarcasm, leaving Gladio to wonder at his level of obliviousness.

From the front, Ignis quietly muttered, "It's truly wonderful being valued."

They arrived at the resort a half hour later all to find that the place was actually very crowded. The beach was filled with what they initially mistook for tourists…but it only took Prompto half a second to realize just what they were looking at. "College spring breakers! If there were any more chicks here, it'd be a chocobo farm!"

"Ba-dum tss," Gladio added with a roll of his eyes, making Prompto go red. "Get a move on, you guys, it ain't cool for folks to see the live entertainment rolling up in a boring sedan. Also, didn't the King mention checking Hammerhead about the progress of his car once we're done?"

Noctis pulled his guitar out of the trunk, fastening it around him before handing Prompto his. "Yep. The proceeds of tonight's show will go towards the first payment of the car," he said regrettably, giving Ignis a foldable electronic keyboard.

Ignis nodded to him as he took it but added, "More accurately, _your_ proceeds, Noct, will go towards paying for the car. The King understands the rest of us have bills to pay." He lifted his head high while pushing up his second pair of glasses, making it clear the rest of them were not going to be dragged into the reparation for Noct's folly. "I also must ask, what _did_ make you conjure the armiger yesterday?"

The sudden question brought a flush to the prince's face. "Don't laugh but…I had this dream we were surrounded by a massive hoard of Gladios."

"The hell…?!" Gladio eyed him worriedly. "Why me specifically? You tryin' to tell me something?"

Noctis began to walk towards the building, keeping his pace fast in hopes of keeping this conversation short. "I don't know…I was thinking about how you used to train me when I was little. Then suddenly, there were two of you…and then more…and more! And then suddenly, I was my age I am now and Ignis and Prompto were there. All of the clones kept saying quotes from you like 'Get it together!' or 'Who taught you that, princess?' My patience was running out but I heard Ignis say 'That's it!' and I guess he reached his breaking point before me. I started attacking and then…I woke up in the middle of the road," he finished, realizing that now that he'd vocalized the dream, it was even crazier than it was in his head.

"…Sooo…You killed me," Gladio said. "Wow. Love you too, Noct."

"You were everywhere!" Noctis defended himself. "Do you know what it's like to deal with a hoard of you?!"

"Like I said, what you got against me, huh?" Gladio shot back. "Go on, say it!"

"Would you like to deal with a hoard of _me_?" Noctis asked him.

"It wouldn't—" And then he thought about that. "Oh gods, no. One Noct is enough. I think that's my quota."

Though Noctis had pushed the question on him, his answer oddly stung. "Didn't have to be so brutal, man."

"What about me, huh? Ever dream about me?" Prompto asked hopefully.

Noctis indeed had, dreams that were simply extensions on his regular days hanging out with the blond, goofing off and playing video games while actually managing to forget for a brief moment that he was royalty. Then he'd wake up and the truth would come rushing back to him and he'd remember that one day, the burden of ruling would be placed on his shoulders. But he opted not to tell him about any of that. "Nope, sorry, dude."

When Prompto deflated, he gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

Near the entrance of Galdin Quay, they passed a man who initially seemed to be taking in the ocean vista until he caught sight of the group. "Do pardon me, but could I perhaps trouble you for—"

"I don't have anything to spare, sorry," Noct said automatically, stepping around him.

The man's jaw actually fell open for a moment before catching himself with a laugh. "Oh my, you think I'm homeless!"

Against his better judgement (and Ignis', judging by the click of his teeth), Noctis paused, running his eyes fully up and down the man, taking in his multiple layers of odd clothing. "You mean you're not? I mean, you just look so…" Tacky? "Unusual," he settled on.

The magenta-haired man gave a thoroughly amused smile, shaking his head as he sauntered closer. "Oh, no, I assure you that I have a very comfortable abode where I lay my head at night. One might say it's even fit for a king!"

At that, Noctis withheld a groan. If being around other rich people had taught him anything, it was that many felt that they needed to spice up their lives by being what they would consider _eccentric_ , especially in fashion. Looking like you were poor was supposed to be _avant-garde._ Still, he knew he was one to talk. He paid a handsome sum just for his casual outfit, something he likely could've pieced together for a fraction of the cost. In the end, they were all phonies. Switching subjects he instead asked, "What was it that you needed?"

"An autograph, if you would be so kind," the man batted his light-golden eyes. "You boys happen to be my _favorite_ thespians."

"…But we're all guys," Prompto said uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head as he looked at his bandmates.

The man actually blinked as he processed the comment before putting a hand to his mouth in surprise. "No, _thespians_ , not lesbians! Good heavens! However, if you were, then you'd be my favorite of those too," he winked, making the blond blush.

"He's saying we're his favorite performers," Ignis clarified and by the way not only Prompto but Noctis and Gladio all said "Oooh!" he could tell none of them had even known what the word meant. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Recovering, Prompto excitedly jumped back in with, "Really, we're your favorites? So, did you listen to _NTN_? Didja like that one?"

"Did I! Oh, the lyrics had so much _color_ to them!" Said the man, his eyes truly sparkling. "The part about 'I'm gonna put a cap in Emperor Aldercapt' was so bold! Honestly, for shame that you had to tone things down for this new album but I assure you, I shall remain loyal all the way to the very end." Here, he gave a sweeping bow, placing his hat against his chest.

Noctis wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not but as they were now running late, he didn't have the time to care. From his guitar case, he pulled out a glossy group photo that the band had been urged to keep on hand and accepted a pen from Ignis, who was holding it up at the ready. "Who should I make this out to?"

"To Ardyn will work. Ah, that's Ardyn with a Y, please," he corrected Noctis, who had initially written it with an E. His bright smile remained unwavering even as the prince gave an unbecoming sigh and pulled another photo out, signing it properly. "Also, if it's not too much to ask, may I have the signature of everyone? Really, it'd be a shame to not take advantage of my luck of having caught all four of you here!"

Prompto was all too happy to add his name in the corner opposite of Noct's with Gladio and Ignis scribbling theirs in the other two corners. Once they were finished, Ardyn took the photo and pressed it against his chest as though it were a dear treasure. "All of you have been wonderful lads! I will certainly cherish this moment forever. But alas, I fear that I've made you late so allow me to take my leave. Still, here's to hoping our paths cross again! In fact…I'm rather certain we shall meet again…" He waved his hand with a flourish before strolling down the docked entrance—in the opposite direction of the resort.

"Shouldn't he be going inside if he's such a fan?" Prompto questioned as they finally stepped inside. An attendant bowed to the group and began to lead them to a backstage area where Cor had already arranged to bring the rest of their equipment.

Gladio huffed a grunt before guessing, "I doubt he's even a fan, especially someone his age. However, he's done his homework on us, meaning if he's not a fan, he could be trouble. I don't trust him."

"Agreed," said Ignis. "But for now, let us focus on our show. The venue is more crowded than we'd anticipated so let's be certain we give a good performance so as to be invited back again."

Also behind the stage were several dressing rooms and Noctis smiled as he saw his name on one of them, embossed with a gold star. It made him think of Hollywood in America. Maybe one day, they'd get the chance to perform that far over on the western hemisphere, assuming the issues with the Empire didn't escalate any further.

He entered the room and was pleased to see only one person would be working on him. In the past, he'd had to dismiss the extra people hovering around him, all there to fetch him anything he needed. Except for a couple of bottles of water to drink on stage and to practice his singing beforehand, he rarely requested anything else. Having that many people around made him think of the Citadel and the reason why he'd fled from there by the time he'd hit high school.

The makeup artist made very little talk as she worked and he appreciated the quiet. It was soothing to be pamered and as usual, he found himself drifting off to sleep. He felt her dab creme here and add a puff of powder there and then the best part came: his hair. Fingers in his hair always made all the tension go out of him. He didn't hide his smile as she began to gently comb his strands and then flat-ironed them into even pointer strands. It was all over way too soon and when finished, he rose from his seat reluctantly.

He looked at himself in the mirror and while it was nothing new, he was still trying to get used to it. The makeup made his skin even lighter and absolutely flawless in a very unnatural way. Every eyelash had been curled into place and just a hint of eyeliner surrounded the lids. His lips had been made to look poutier with a light gloss and his plume of unruly black hair was still just as unruly but now it had an air of _intention_ , each strand sprayed to stay up or to lie down. This image was also one enforced by the label after the greenlight was given for _Insomniac_ and he tried to grin and bear with it.

His outfit had already been set aside and once the woman left, he changed from his favorite Choco-mog t-shirt and jeans into an entirely black ensemble. As black was a special color in Insomnia and usually only attributed to royalty, it was another sign of those at the top capitalizing on his status. He wouldn't complain though; at least it was a basic color that pretty much looked good no matter what kind of pieces he wore.

Finished, he took his bottled water and stepped out, heading back to the practice area. Prompto was just leaving his room and the two stopped and sized one another up before both burst into giggles.

"Prompto…?! What happened to your face?" Noctis pointed at him.

"Hey, shut up! I got some new guy because my usual stylist was sick. Besides, you're one to talk! You look like some kind of J-pop reject!"

"Gladly," Noctis snorted at him, recoiling inside at the thought of being part of _that_ kind of band. He looked Prompto over again out the corner of his eye and realized that like himself, his artist had opted to cover his entire face, hiding away his freckles. In the most "no homo" way he could, Noctis rather liked the freckles as it sort of added to his friend's dorky personality. Every change that had been made to him had also been made to Prompto with the exception that his artist had shaded his right eye in red winged eyeliner. Combined with the white makeup, it almost made him look like one of the feared yet attractive humanoid demon lords from one of his manga. _I'm not gonna say I'm jealous…but I'm a little jealous._

Ignis and Gladio were already practicing when they arrived and while Noctis had been expecting a guffaw from Gladio, Ignis' chortles were unanticipated. Oh, his advisor laughed. And laughed. And continued to laugh. It were as though a lifetime of humor had finally burst forth and Ignis was helpless to stop himself.

"One…one moment! I apologize, Your Highness…I can't…I just can't!" He leaned on his keyboard for support, nearly causing both its weak legs and his own to buckle. At long last, he started to control himself, wiping away tears from behind his glasses. "Oh my…I don't know what came over me. But gracious, if King Regis could see his son now!"

The makeup hid Noctis' angry flush but he shouted back, "Yeah, well, I happen to like it!" No he didn't.

"We don't match," Gladio pointed out. Both his face and Ignis' remained unchanged for the most part. A bit of makeup slightly concealed the deep scar that adorned the side of his face but otherwise, he still looked the same. Ignis' already immaculate skin had only been touched up to make it gleam.

Noctis considered his statement and had to admit that he was right. He and Prompto were like…members of Kiss trying to blend in with, say, Breaking Benjamin. The differences were just too glaring. He accepted one of the spare bandanas Prompto usually kept on hand and began to wipe his face off. The label was just going to have to deal with it.

By the time they were done, it was time for them to go on stage and they'd gotten very little practice in. He wasn't too concerned though. Just like the times where they'd have to fight together when out on the road, he knew his friends would still fall into sync with him and would help to keep things going if ever he should waver.

He stepped out into the spotlight to deafening applause but his eyes searched around, looking only for a certain someone…


	4. Sleight of Hand

 

**Sleight of Hand**

As Noctis strummed the opening chords to their most popular song so far, "LunafreYEAH!", he realized the subject of the song was not present. He'd asked within the notebook to Luna if she'd be arriving to watch the concert but her answer had only been an ambiguous "I'll try." This would be the third concert he'd asked her to attend and the third time his request had been unfulfilled.

Usually he and Prompto would work to hype up the crowd but his heart wasn't in it now. During the song, he saw his friend glance over to him and that gesture alone was enough for the blonde to understand the unfortunate situation. Aside from singing, Noctis spoke very little to the people out front this time. For most concerts, he'd punctuate the space between songs by telling quick anecdotes of their travels or by throwing out personal items (his shirt, a cap, a glove...and almost his underwear at the behest of one die-hard fan, though Ignis had rushed over and made him pull his pants back up). This time, he left that to Prompto but was warmed a little when he heard Gladio give overly-enthusiastic roars from the back with his drum kit. Even with his bare-bones participation, it looked like the crowd was having a good time.

Once the show finally ended and he'd ducked backstage, he pulled out his phone and immediately called Luna. It was something they rarely did considering both worried Niflheim might one day tap the lines but he figured this was important enough to warrant a call.

"Noctis? Why are you calling? Please tell me it's actually important this time and you're not huffing about me not coming to one of your concerts," were the first words Luna spoke to him.

Noctis went red. "Ah…I mean…pfft, no! Why would I call about that, haha…"

"Look, I'm sorry, I truly I am, but as the Oracle, I have people coming from everywhere trying to find me. Literally everywhere! I had one man that was so desperate, he'd actually managed to get into the garden before Gentiana caught him. But he wasn't sick…well, deranged with fanaticism, yes, but not Starscourge sick." There was a hard shuffling on her end for a moment before he heard her cry out, "Umbra, no! Get away from Pryna!"

Any time she brought up her work, it made him feel the four years between their ages as though it were ten years. Here he was, gallivanting across the country (he'd gotten that word from Ignis) and yet she was working hard to actually help people. Like always, her logic made him lose his steam and all the tension finally left out of him. "Well…I still hope one day you can make it," he said dumbly.

There was more shuffling and he heard one of her dogs begin to whine continuously in the background. "I do too, Noct. Gods know, I could use a day off. Maybe I can have Gentiana help to put together a disguise for me. Oh, actually that's brilliant! Why hadn't I thought of—Umbra, for the love of the gods, please be quiet! Sorry, Noctis, I have to go. I kicked Umbra out the room because Pryna's in heat and now he won't stop crying at the door. Honestly, who's brilliant thinking was it to have _spirit animals_ go into heat? Anyways, I will try to speak with you again soon." The line suddenly went silent.

During the call, the others had packed up their belongings into the car once more and he strolled out the building to go join them. Knowing that he hadn't been intentionally stood up made him feel better and in his brighter mood he offered, "Why don't we stay at the Galdin Quay? We can head to Hammerhead tomorrow."

At the mention of the location, Prompto immediately sat up. "Hammerhead. _Now!_ "

Noctis ignored him as his judgement wasn't very sound when it came to anything dealing with going by Hammerhead. He looked to his advisor and Ignis pushed up his glasses which always prefaced bad news. "We don't have Galdin Quay money, remember? And also…we were paid in the Insomnian currency, not gil."

Noctis actually felt his jaw drop before he caught himself. "Wait, seriously?! I don't mind being paid in cash but at least give us the local currency!"

Ignis shook his head, also bewildered. "I asked about that from the manager and he thought he was doing us a favor since we live in Insomnia. I didn't want to be rude and inform him that going to the bank and converting it over would result in a very large loss on our end."

Noctis groaned, going ahead and getting into the car considering they wouldn't be staying. "For once Ignis, I wish you had been rude. At least tell me dad gave us the Lucian Express card."

From the front seat, Ignis was quiet.

"I'm going to take that as a no," the prince sighed, leaning his head against the window. "So let me get this straight: we only have Insomnian bills when we're not in Insomnia but I have to convert that over to gil to make the payment on the Regalia and then convert whatever's left _back_ over once we get into the city?"

Beside him, Gladio snorted. "Yep, that sounds about right."

Noctis could've wept. He took his baseball cap from the back of Ignis' seat and pulled it low over his eyes, slumping down. Maybe when he woke up, this would all have been a dream.

~.~.~

A stop at the bank and two extra hours of driving later and Noctis had to face reality. As they finally pulled into Hammerhead that evening, his exhaustion made him too tired to even care anymore. Cindy was already standing by the gas pumps, ready to fill the car but for once, he found it very easy to not feel any attraction for her. She represented part of the reason his funds were about to be extremely thin.

Well, her, and the fact that his father didn't allow him access to the royal bank account. Something about responsible money management or some other insignificant excuse, Noctis scoffed.

Cindy walked up to them with a bright smile, taking off the gas cap. "Hey, was hopin' ya'll would stop by soon! The Regalia's actually almost finished. Good thing she's built to take a beating—"

The group flinched at her choice of words.

"—Because the only damage was cosmetic. I got in touch with a local body shop and they said they'll have a new frontend ready by tomorrow. I told 'em it was for the king so that they'd process it faster," she winked. "So, feel free to stay over at the trailer over yonder and I can send ya'll back to the city with the old girl."

Noctis looked at the trailer at the edge of the property and barely concealed a shudder. It looked ancient on the outside and he was scared to see the inside. They could pitch camp somewhere…but finding a place that was high up from the daemons would take time and his tired bones weren't up for a hike in the middle of the night either way. Cramped trailer then it would be.

Figuring words were in order, he forced himself to say, "Thanks for taking care of the car. Um, both the Regalia and this one," he added.

"No prob! Though this one is already showing some wear and tear. Ya'll must've rode her pretty hard," she whistled.

"Yes. Yes we did," Prompto informed her with glassy eyes. Gladio bit his lip.

"Anywho, go get something to eat and I'll see you boys in the mornin'," she bade them goodnight, pulling a rag from her pocket and proceeding to wash the windshield. Prompto's eyes opened to their fullest and began to shimmer, his excitement as bright as the sun as he watched her press against the glass.

"Hey, Prom? You're literally getting a nosebleed," Noctis informed him with amusement. He tried to guide his friend into the diner but Prompto actually began to put up a fight, shaking out of his reach.

"Let me enjoy this!" he whispered. "I already know I don't have a shot with her, but can I at least _look_? It's all I have!" He protested, but Cindy was now done with the car and his lip began to tremble from having missed the full experience.

Gladio gave him a consoling pat on the back, finally able to lead him into the restaurant. "How about I fix you up with a cute girl next time we're in Lestallum? The place is crawling with ladies since they're inexplicably the only ones that can go into the power plant. Anyways, I kind of have this on and off thing with this woman that has a younger sister that's about our age, I'll introduce the two of you next time we go there."

Prompto sniffled up a trail of blood and nodded meekly. "Okay."

They got a booth and Noctis poured over the menu, making a list of the items that would allow him to avoid vegetables. His eyes landed on a sirloin sandwich which consisted of nothing but meat and bread and he felt his heart give a leap. It came complete with a massive side of fries and his choice of a drink. Satisfied, he sat the menu back down and waited on the others.

"Whatever you've ordered had better have a vegetable with it," Ignis gave him a hard glare over the top of his menu, glasses flashing.

Sitting back with folded arms, Noctis' expression was triumphant. "Indeed it does."

"Fries don't count."

"What?! No, that's not fair! You didn't say what kind of vegetable; you just said it had to be one! Fries totally count!"

"Potatoes are a starch, they break down into a simple sugar. Fries are nothing more than deep-fried sugar. It doesn't count," Ignis educated him.

Noctis spluttered and leaned forward with both hands on the table, receiving a grunt from crowding in on Gladio beside him. "It also has health benefits, too! You just have to eat them in moderation!"

"Which you don't," Ignis quickly crushed his opposition. "Now, enough arguing. I shall order something for you and I don't want to hear another word on the matter." He snapped his menu closed, finalizing the discussion.

When the waitress arrived at their table, both Prompto and Gladio ordered burgers and Noctis still proceeded to order his meat sandwich. To his surprise, Ignis didn't stop him and only added his broccoli, ham and cheese melt to their list, along with a smoothie and black coffee. Noctis sat back in relief, seeing that Ignis had likely dropped the issue.

When the food arrived though, the advisor pushed the smoothie in his direction, a tall glass of something shaded a funky green. "Drink," the man commanded.

Noctis actually gagged, putting a hand over his mouth. "It looks like mashed peas, I'm not touching that!"

Prompto glanced over to the drink and exclaimed, "Hey, this looks like the stuff my mom drinks when she wants to do a cleanse! I heard they're really good for you." He reached over and took a sip, rolling the taste around for a moment. "Oh wow, it's actually pretty sweet! Now I wish I'd ordered one."

Still, the prince was unmoved. "It looks like baby shit."

"Oh, come on!" Gladio yelled, punching him in the arm. "Keep your goddamn commentary to yourself! Either drink it or shut the hell up."

With shaking hands, Noctis pulled the drink closer. He stared at it for a long while before biting the bullet and taking a _very_ tiny sip from the straw. Already his face was twisting up and he searched desperately on the table to find something to spit in—

But his body swallowed it without consent and he blinked in confusion as his thought process rewired itself. Prompto was right. It was sweet, along with being fruity and creamy. The color was terrible but the actual flavor was amazing. "Okay, Specs, I admit defeat. This isn't half bad," he grinned in embarrassment, taking a longer pull. "What's in it?"

"A variety of fruits and yogurt and, if you can believe me, a handful of spinach leaves," Ignis said with a superior tilt of his nose. "Do you truly like it?"

Noctis had already downed half the glass. "Yeah, no complaints here, surprisingly. I guess I…shouldn't have acted like such a little kid." He looked guiltily at the fries he'd argued so hard in favor of, almost too ashamed to eat them now. Almost. Slowly, he began to nibble on a few.

Ignis smiled at his surrender before proclaiming, "Well then, that's it!"

"What's up, Iggy?" Gladio inquired around a mouthful of his burger.

"I've come up with a new recipe!" Ignis pulled a miniature notebook from his pocket and proceeded to write within it.

"I could taste-test it for you," Gladio instantly offered, but then cast a glance at Noct's nearly empty glass. "Except for that. He's right, it does look like baby shit."

* * *

The Starscourge is mentioned in this chapter but that will likely have nothing to do with the plot. Yes, I'm pretty much asking you to ignore the fact that I have Noctis ignoring people in his country who are dying from a rather horrible and violent disease that he has the ability to help cure. Yeah...

However, if anyone can tell me just _why_ only women work at Lestallum's power plant, I'd appreciate that. Even the wikia doesn't explain the reason. Trying to be progressive is nice and all, but there's such a thing as trying to be _too_ progressive, to the point of not making sense :)


	5. Devil With a Halo

It's been nearly two weeks since I've updated so here's a longer chapter for you.

* * *

 

**Devil with a Halo**

Noctis woke up some time at early dawn, stretching and rolling over. The movement instantly put him on the floor, dragging half the blankets with him. He groaned quietly, staying still to listen and ensure he hadn't woken the others. Gladio and Prompto both snored on in the bunk beds across from his. He carefully got to his feet and saw that Ignis in the bed above his also hadn't moved. Or he was doing a great job of pretending to be asleep. He definitely wouldn't put it past the man to have that skill amongst the list of his other innumerable talents.

Rubbing his sore hip, he remembered just why he'd woken up so suddenly in the first place. He made his way to the very back of the trailer to the bathroom but one look at it made him instantly regret entering. Clearly, keeping up the trailer was not a job belonging to any employee of the Hammerhead or the pit stop. He could wait a few more hours for the restaurant to open or…

He went back to his bed and slipped on his shoes, then opened the trailer door as quietly as possible to avoid its obnoxious creak. He shivered in his boxers and tank top as he made his way around the back before giving a precursory glance around to ensure he had privacy. Ensured he was alone, he reached down and—

It wasn't until he was mid-stream that he realized he wasn't alone. Beside him was Gentiana who looked as startled to see him as he was to see her. He tried to force himself to stop but now that the flow had come, it was impossible and so he was left standing there, completely exposed. "Hey," he greeted with feigned casualty, trying his best to hurry up. Why the hell did the first piss in the morning have to be so long?!

"I-I was sent here by Lady Lunafreya," the goddess finally said, doing her best to avert her gaze. She quickly stepped aside and revealed Umbra sitting beside her. For the first time ever, the dog was on a leash, but one that glowed, likely a unique device to keep the messenger from breaking free. Gentiana spoke again and rushed her next lines. "My Lady has asked that I escort him to you for further care until the situation with Pryna is resolved. I have now completed my delivery and will leave. Good day, young prince." She vanished instantly in a blur of black hair and leather, her expression an interesting mixture of mortification and awe.

Still going, Noctis looked down at the dog, who studied him curiously with a cocked head. "You were turned down by the girl you loved, buddy?" he asked the pooch.

Umbra whined, ears going flat.

"Yeah, I totally know the feeling."

The dog stood up, hoisted a leg, and joined him in a marking ceremony of the rejected.

~.~.~

Hours later after he'd gone back to bed, he was woken up by someone close to him. He slowly opened his eyes to see Prompto sitting on his bed, scratching Umbra. He'd told the dog to sleep on the floor but clearly, the messenger had chosen to disobey that directive. Noticing him waking up, Prompto gave a bright smile. "Hey, great timing! Iggy's almost done with breakfast. Where did Umbra come from, though? Did he sneak in last night?"

Noctis certainly was not about to tell him the truth of what happened and opted to nod at his assumption. "Yeah, something like that. Also, off my bed, jester. The prince sleeps here." He used his foot to push against Prompto's turned back, effectively sliding the blond off the mattress.

"Alright, alright, I'm going! But I recommend you getting up before Gladio has to. Remember that time we were camping and he dunked you in the river?" his friend giggled.

Yes, Noctis remembered very clearly that day. They had been in the midst of a very aggressive tour schedule and he'd only wanted just a few more precious minutes of sleep. According to Gladiolus' Guide to Living, you could 'sleep when you're dead.' And so, not only was he denied that small request, he had been bodily carted off to the nearest river and dropped in.

He didn't speak to Gladio for three days after that. It was finally broken when he wasn't able to open a jar of jelly and needed the man's assistance in doing so.

Thankfully, the area around Hammerhead was nothing but dry plains but the idea of being carted out into the baking sun was still unappealing. He sat up and nudged Umbra off the bed and began to put on his clothes from the day before. They were a few hours from outside the city; he could wash and fully change once there.

At the front of the trailer was the kitchen, with a large pan full of fried eggs on the stove. The rest of the items were missing but likely had been taken outside to the table. He took the pan with him and indeed found Prompto and Ignis setting up the table.

"'Morn," Noctis yawned, setting down his portion of helping out.

"Top of the morning to you too," Ignis replied with quite the enthusiasm. "I see Lady Lunafreya has sent her messenger. Do take care to not keep a woman waiting and to write back, Noct," he advised wisely.

The prince briefly lamented the woman that would have to withstand his nagging. "Actually, Umbra is staying for a while. Pryna's, um…" He didn't want to say it.

"Pryna? Ooh. Right. Well then, I suppose it can't be helped," Ignis brushed it off. He fell quiet for a moment as he watched Prompto slowly and carefully place the multitude of silverware in their correct places. Once finished, the blond looked up with expectancy and Ignis gave him a quiet handclap, praising his work. Umbra wagged his tail and Prompto looked like he wished he too had one to wag. "Let us all break the fast so that we can hurry back to Insomnia."

Gladio joined them halfway through the meal, leaving the workshop garage. "Cindy just finished installing the new front for the Regalia, and her supplier did a good job with the color matching. The king's car looks good as new." He started to pile food onto his plate but took a glance at Prompto's dish to realize his was rather barren. Without considering what had already been eaten, he heaved a slab of bacon at the blond, grunting, "Eat up, runt."

"Oh, I'm actually getting pretty full, I'm good—" Prompto tried to protest.

"You could do with more meat on your bones," was the reply.

Prompto dropped his fork and stared at the food with swimming eyes. "Yeah…I've already been there," he said quietly to himself.

Noctis heard him though and slipped the proffered meat onto his own plate. "Waste not, want not, right? I'll have it—"

"Actually, nobody will be eating it. I cooked too much and I'm terribly sorry," Ignis stated, completely plucking Noctis' plate from him to put the bacon back into its original dish. "I'll take it home and freeze it for the next time we're on the road. And Gladio, do try to use more tact when it comes to others diets."

Gladio huffed out a laugh, making it clear that someone should take his own advice.

Later when everything had been packed away, Noctis made the walk he'd been dreading since getting up. He headed over to the garage but dodged swiftly as a car was driven out. Even with his apprehension though, he couldn't help but to smile wide as he looked at his father's car. It glistened perfectly, showing a new wax, and the custom tires that boasted King Regis' full name and succession number were polished a blinding silver. He loved his own car, but he had to admit: the Star of Lucis couldn't compare to the Regalia.

Cindy hopped out the car and gave the hood an affectionate pat. "See, told ya the old girl would be as good as new! However, on the matter of settlin' up…" She sauntered over to him and Noctis heard Prompto give a swallow as she drew near. "This here'll cost ya twenty-thousand gil," she smiled sweetly.

"Oh my goddess, Shiva!" Ignis protested first, startling everyone. "Miss Cindy, if I may: Don't you find that to be a bit steep? You yourself said it was only cosmetic damage and nothing more. Why such a high price?"

She gave him a sympathetic pout. "I understand but there's a few reasons. First being that the supplier dropped everything in order to work on the king's car. They'd like compensation for that. Second, extra labor went into making the part as this ain't no dime a dozen factory job. Third, _I_ need money as the jobs ain't comin' in like they used to. And fourth…daddy still has his grudge with the king and he told me to charge ya extra for it," she actually giggled.

"Not funny," Noct said, though he had again donned his choco-mog shirt and hat. "Look, you know like I know that we don't—"

" _Ahem!_ " Ignis coughed.

"That _I_ don't have that kind of money," Noctis corrected with an irritated look at his advisor. _Taking full responsibility for the accident, my ass!_ "So, you're never going to see the light of that twenty-thousand gil."

"Then tell the king that we send him our warmest regards but that the Regalia will have to remain here with us," Cindy winked at him.

"Holy fucking shit, we're being extorted," Gladio threw up his hands.

"I have an idea," Prompto offered, swallowing again as he stepped toward her. "Why don't I stay here and help out in order to pay off the car? You can take it out of my wages." Dear all Six gods, please say yes!

"No. We can't afford any more hands, sorry," she sighed, though Noctis wondered about its authenticity.

He started working the gears of his mind and said, "How about a payment plan? Or I can do hunts? That worked last time."

"Twenty-thousand gil is a long time huntin'. The True King from the Cosmogony would be born before you raise that kinda money!" She shook her head.

As Noctis did not know of his eventual destiny, he said nothing on the matter. However, he realized that their backs were now against the wall and he had no other choices. "Alright, fine. I guess…there's only one thing I can do." He walked away from the Hammerhead to stand beside the road. Taking off his cap and shirt, he cast a bashful look behind him to the others. "This is all I can offer," he said with a gentle shyness.

His entourage rushed up to push him back, just as a car looked to be slowing down. Prompto sent the person off with a wave and a smile of misunderstanding and the driver took off in a roar of anger. "Were you really about to try to sell your body, dude?!" he asked as the other two struggled to put Noctis back in his clothes.

Noctis flipped the cap back to the front that had been jammed on backwards by Gladio and rubbed his sore frame for the second time in two days. "Hey, the virginity of the prince, that should go for a lot, right?"

"You're underselling yourself," Ignis huffed and the entire group went quiet. "What?! Noctis is worth millions if we put it to auction!"

Noctis hid his pride at this assessment but began to consider the possibility, how it'd play nicely to the rebellious attitude of the band. His hopes though were snuffed out when Ignis added, "What you _can_ do is call up your father. Have him make a transfer to your account and let's pay these…good people." He looked Cindy head to toe with something just short of disgust.

Noctis gulped but pulled out his phone. He dialed his father's number with his heart hammering. As was always the case with his father, it picked up on the first ring. "Noctis? Are you alright? Are you stranded somewhere? Do I need to send someone to come get you? Do _I_ need to come get you?" Regis fired off, growing ever more agitated with each question.

He turned his back on the huddle of people so that he wouldn't have to face them as he pleaded. "I'm physically okay, dad. But…I do need your help. We're at the Hammerhead and we have the car, but the money from the show won't be enough to pay for everything. I…kinda need a loan." _Please don't sell my car!_

"I knew I should've sold your damn car," Regis grumbled. "You don't even drive it! Fine, what are they asking for?"

"…Twenty-thousand gil."

"WHAT?! You put that old sonovabitch on the phone!"

"DAD!" Noctis yelled while he heard both Clarus and Ignis' uncle in the background gasp "Your Majesty!"

King Regis was undeterred. "Let me speak to Cid right now! Not Cindy, Cid!"

Noctis turned very slowly to the opening of the garage, where he knew Cid would be. The owner sat in his usual spot in the plastic chair under an umbrella, chewing on the tip of his toothpick. Noct looked to his friends for support. "Do you guys have my back?"

Answering for the group, Ignis gave a solemn "Always."

The prince nodded once in appreciation and together, they walked back to the garage. Cid was casually scratching behind Umbra's ears but sensing the tension, the dog quickly got out of dodge, running to hide under the car. Cid folded both hands in his lap and gave Noctis perhaps the most pleasant expression he'd ever seen on him. "Yessir? Somethin' I can help you with?"

"My father would like to speak with you…" Noctis held the phone out with a trembling hand.

Cid took the phone casually from him and nestled it to his ear. "Reggie! Long time, no speak! How are you?"

"Don't 'Reggie' me!" They could hear the king thunder on the other side. "What the hell is the meaning of that price you gave my son?"

"Now, now, _Reggie,_ no need to get all upset. Times are hard for those of us not sittin' pretty in the Crown City. A man's gotta make a living. Besides, the way I see it…you owe me. Remember that _thing_ that happened?"

And thus the line went silent. When Regis again spoke, it was strained. "Put my son back on the phone."

Cid gave over the mobile and Noctis once more turned his back on the others. "Dad?"

"Noct, give him the money. I'll make the transfer right now," Regis sighed, already clicking on a keyboard.

"Wait, are you sure? I mean, this has to be illegal! Can't you sue or something?" Noctis whispered fiercely.

"A lawsuit can't solve everything, no matter what Insomnia has taught you. There, it's finished. Check your bank account. I'll see you when you get home." He hung up.

Noctis pulled up his account and saw that the money was already in there, the balance being only marginally higher than the total payment. With constraint to his real feelings, he turned back around and smiled. "Well, alright then! Dad just transferred me the money so let's go ahead and get this taken care of."

That card swipe was the most expensive single purchase he'd ever made. Ignis snatched the receipt from Cindy and ensured it was stored safely in the Regalia's glovebox before climbing into the driver's seat. "To avoid a repeat of the last ride in this vehicle, Noct, you shan't be riding with me," he said stiffly. Clearly, he didn't want anyone riding with him though as he immediately pulled off.

Noctis ran back to the Citadel's own car and got behind the steering wheel. Prompto took shotgun with Gladio taking the backseat, shared only with Umbra. Noctis gave a stiff wave to the two garage owners but said nothing as he heard Cindy call out, "Y'all make sure you come back now, ya hear?"

"Never," Noctis whispered as they began to fly down the road, working to catch up with Ignis.

Leaning forward to put his head between the front seats, Gladio asked, "So, Prom, what do you think of your beautiful angel now?"

Prompto bit his trembling lip while shaking his head. "Too soon, man. Too soon."

* * *

In truth, I actually like Cindy and Cid so this wasn't meant to genuinely bash them :) I'm going to try to have the next chapter return to more things related to the band.


	6. You Can't Cure Stupid

 

**You Can't Cure Stupid**

It was with the feeling of a weight falling off his shoulders that Noctis handed the Regalia's key to his father, having retrieved it from Ignis first. The king held it closely to his chest for a moment before clapping his son on the shoulder. "You did very well. I cannot thank you enough for returning her."

The two had convened in his father's study which was currently empty. Taking advantage of the rare privacy, Noctis asked, "Why did it cost so much? What'd you to do Cid?"

His father stiffened and looked away. "I…can't tell you. I'm afraid you'll think less of me if I did."

Now Noct's mind was racing as he came up with scenario after scenario of what might've happened. "It wasn't anything…troubling, was it?" he asked cautiously.

"…Define 'troubling'", Regis tip-toed.

"Illegal! Oh my god, dad, no…" Noctis began to whine, putting a hand to his mouth.

"Noctis. You remember how I told you that myself, Clarus, Weskham, and Cid used to run around together, correct? Well, one day…after too much drinking…"

Noctis froze. "No. Please no…"

"Things kinda got out of hand…" Regis blushed.

"Dad, no! That's enough!"

"I never meant for things to go that far," the king put his face in his hands.

"I don't want to hear anymore!" The prince screamed, beginning to run for the door.

"And I accidentally walked out a store in Accordo without having paid for a pair of sunglasses," Regis finished, looking utterly ashamed.

Letting go of the knob, Noctis stared him down in disbelief. "Seriously? That's it? Don't you think then you're blowing this way out of proportion?"

"Am I, Noctis?! Tell me, am I?!" The king literally pulled his hair. "That store was failing, my purchase could've possibly saved them!"

The prince pinched the bridge of his nose and came forward to rest a hand on his father's shoulder. "Dad, unless that single pair of sunglasses was priced to cover all of their losses, I'm pretty sure there was no way buying them would've saved the store. You're being way too hard on yourself."

Regis still was unconvinced though. "I'm a thief. What would the people of Altissia think of me with Lucis being their last ally? What would our country think of me? I don't deserve to rule." He took off the horned circlet that adorned his head and threw it against a wall. It bounced off unharmed and fell into a chair.

Noctis wasn't sure what to say anymore. If his father was willing to let his "friend" con him out of 20,000 gil for not telling anyone that he accidentally walked out a store with a pair of stupid sunglasses, maybe his father didn't deserve to rule. At the same time, he was too busy with his band and had no interest in leading the country at the moment. He understood his father was under a lot of stress but he had to do something to bring him back to his senses.

Gathering up a level of patience he'd only seen from Ignis, he addressed his father. "I remember a great man telling me "walk tall, my son". I heard that and knew it meant to be strong, to be proud of who I am. I will make mistakes, but I will rise from them. So shall you, dad. Now, we can't do anything about what happened in the past, but from now on, I want you to walk tall—"

His eyes landed on his father's cane, and he cleared his throat. "Um, to stand tall. Don't let others rule you in your own country. This kingdom is yours, so own it." He felt his chest swell with warmth, genuinely believing in his message. He was sure his father would too.

"…Who the hell filled your head with that philosophical crap?" Regis instantly slapped him back down, actually making Noctis gasp. "It was that jittery blond kid, wasn't it? Pronto?"

"Prompto!" Noctis yelled.

The door opened. "You called?" his friend poked his head in.

"NO!" Both Noctis and Regis shouted, making him slither away.

King Regis stood up and walked around the desk. From the chair, he picked up his circlet and placed it back on with the help of a large mirror on the wall. "Noctis, I believe you should go. I would like some time to myself."

Noctis wanted to continue the argument but he bit his tongue and turned to walk out. Just as he was shutting the door, he caught a final glimpse of his father staring at a picture on the wall that showed himself with his old best friends.

The king closed his eyes and put his head against the frame. "What's happened to you, Reggie?"

Noctis shut the door and the topic was never mentioned again.

~.~.~

_Insomniac_ 's sales started slow but as praise came in for the album, the band became a worthy contender on the charts. "LunafreYEAH!" went from number fifteen on the polls to shooting to the number three spot. The album was certified gold just by the end of the month and went platinum twice by the end of three months and suddenly, their faces were everywhere. The interesting obscurity Noctis had noticed when outside of Insomnia instantly came to an end as Cor continued to work from the shadows with arranging photo shoots, talk show appearances and of course, heavy touring.

Currently, they were in Lestallum to film the final touches of their next video, "Of Magic and Men" to which Noctis hoped would let them reach triple platinum. Part of the last scene consisted of him realistically summoning Ramuh, though he commanded the god not to attack as the image alone was impressive enough. The fading shot had Noctis' eyes changing from vibrant pink back to an illuminated blue, all while holding a palm of fire and the rest of his group standing ready for battle. It was a perfect blend of machismo and dark sexiness and he was assured the fans would eat it up. As he watched the entire video with the director afterwards, he couldn't stop smiling.

Also as time would have it, today was his birthday. "Hey, dinner is on me! Let's celebrate in style!" he told his crew, receiving cheers from Prompto and Gladiolus and even Ignis actually smiled.

"Nice, you're being responsible for a change," the advisor said casually.

"Hey, what do you mean 'for a change'?" Noctis threw at him. Ignis only pushed up his glasses and offered no further comment.

They ate dinner at a restaurant specializing in traditional Lestallum cuisine and he was happy that Ignis wrote down the ingredients so that they could make it again on the road. They were just about to move on to dessert when the sound of loud, pulsing music began to lightly shake the windows. Noctis looked around and could see on the outside edge of the building the reflection of multi-colored lights.

Prompto was already thinking a step ahead of him and was getting up from the table. "Let's partake in the par-tay!" he encouraged, grabbing Noctis' hand and dragging him up from the seat.

Noctis threw a few large bills on the table and allowed himself to be led away. With him gone, Gladio excused himself to go visit his on again/off again lady, leaving Ignis as the only one left. "Well _I'm_ still having dessert," he declared and called over a waiter for the dessert menu.

The party was actually further than they thought and the two found themselves winding their way through several backstreets before they finally arrived. The gathering consisted of about two hundred other people all crammed into a rather tight space. The song they'd been listening to ended but the new one that started up was all too familiar, even to Noctis. He wasn't surprised that a crowd of those around his own age would be listening to Avicii, a master of EDM.

"Whoo, I love this song!" Prompto screamed, his voice nearly drowned out in the bass. On the outside edge of the crowd were several large coolers full of beverages and he snatched out a few beers for them. "Drink and enjoy, my man!"

The energy was just too infectious and his ecstasy at the band's current success, plus it being his birthday finally culminated to a head. He threw himself into the midst of the crowd and shook a tail feather he never knew he had. He crowdsurfed and then hoisted Prompto up for his turn to be passed around like a beach ball. His over-priced shirt became lost at some point but it didn't matter. For now, he wasn't the next heir to the Lucian throne but simply 'Noct', a twenty-one year old enjoying life to the fullest.

Until the next morning.

Fuck living, he wanted to be _dead._ Both his head and stomach felt awful and he didn't even know where the hell he was. He finally made out that he was on a bed…with someone beside him. There was just enough morning sunlight coming from a curtain for him to see a shock of blond hair. Why was Prompto on his bed…

His stomach lurched and he covered his mouth. A stronger gag threatened to burst through the barrier and he wobbled as fast as he could to the bathroom, making it just in time. When at long last he emerged with a wet washcloth held to his mouth and wishing someone would just end it all for him, he was knocked aside by Prompto, just managed to fall in front of the toilet. Noctis grimaced as he shut the door behind him.

At that moment, he heard a quiet beep from the front and then the hotel door opened. Ignis was carrying two sacks of groceries but he paused with a sour face as he heard Prompto. "Well then, looks like you two had fun," he said, making his way to the kitchenette. "I had hoped you both would show a little more restraint with your drinking, but I suppose that was asking for too much. No matter, I anticipated this. Let me whip up something to put your stomachs at ease."

Noctis didn't stay to watch, dragging himself back to the bed and burrowing under the covers. A moment later, he heard the bathroom door open and Prompto whine, "Iggy…if I ever ask to drink again…take my gun and shoot me."

"Dully noted," Ignis promised.

There was a creak on the bed and Noctis realized Prompto had lain down beside him again. The second bed was vacant though, now that Ignis was awake, and Noctis tried to push Prompto away to go lay over there. Prompto half-heartedly swatted him away and Noctis was getting nauseous with moving. Both gave up and instead focused on not continuing to upheave their innards.

Ignis was just finishing in the kitchen when the front door opened again and Noctis didn't need to look to know it was Gladio. "Damn, I was hoping I could catch you earlier to let you know not to cook for me," he strolled through the room. A suitcase could be heard being thrown on the second bed with items being placed inside. "I've already eaten. Good sex and good food; what more could a guy ask for?"

"Could you _not_ be so crass? It's barely eight in the morning," Ignis reproached him and the soldier only laughed. Footsteps came closer to the bed and then a hand was on Noctis' shoulder. "Noct, Prompto, take this and eat some toast. It should start to make you feel better."

Noctis carefully pulled the covers down and saw on the bedside table a plate of toast with a glass of water and…a can of Ebony. He couldn't help turning inquiring eyes to Ignis. "I recommend the water above the coffee but if you want something that might give you a little boost, the coffee might help. Also, please note the ibuprofen tablets as well."

At the mention of medicine, Prompto slowly sat up, stretching out a pallid, shaking hand. "Give…me…" he pleaded and Ignis rose to pass him a second plate. The blond immediately scarfed down the pills, half the cup of water and then began to tear into the toast. "Nirvana…" he exhaled.

Noctis followed suit and once finished, he sipped on the coffee, indeed feeling a little better. It was then that he remembered though that they were to appear on a show again today. "Hey…call ahead and let them know we're not going to make it today," he said to Ignis.

It was Gladio though who answered. "No way, we're on the fast track to success, baby! If we do anything to slow our roll now, we lose our lead. We don't have to do any performances, just make nice with Ellen D. and let the housewives coo over us. Done and done."

"He does make an interesting point," Ignis mused, getting into his thinking pose with a leg crossed and a finger under his chin. "As the leader, Noct, your presence is compulsory. However, if you absolutely could not make it, the next favorite in the ratings is Prompto, but he too is incapacitated. Gladio and I aren't far behind and are tied but our lower ratings could be due to not many knowing much about us. If we play this right, this could be a chance for Gladiolus and I to boost our charisma…"

He continued to go on in that vein for a while but Noctis stopped paying attention. He dozed back asleep and when he woke up, he was seated in the moving car, still warmly cocooned in a blanket. Certainly this generosity couldn't have been given by Gladio but the man actually put a hand against his forehead when he saw he was waking up. He held it there for a moment before giving his usual satisfactory nod and returning to his book.

Up front, he saw Prompto slumped against the door, also encased in a blanket. He felt so warm and comfortable and his body whispered for him to return back to sleep, and he saw no reason to ignore such a summons. He drifted off just as "Of Magic and Men" played quietly on the radio and at the risk of narcissism, he allowed his own voice to lull him back to sleep.

* * *

In my head, "Wake Me Up" is the Avicii song Noct and Prompto got drunk to, which is a scenario I'd been picturing since discovering the song not too long ago. Also, something quite random…I think Lestallum is based off of Cuba (and personally made me think of what I've seen of Little Havana here in America on TV :) Am I the only one that noticed the comparison?


	7. Worth a Thousand Words

Another delayed chapter but my excitement for Episode Prompto kind of consumed me and pulled my imagination more towards his fascinating background :) I absolutely plan to do a story starring him, but I wanted to wait to have as much information about him as possible. With that said, this current story won't be too much longer and I hope to wrap things up with a total of about eleven or twelve chapters.

* * *

**Worth A Thousand Words**

Two months passed and Noctis received the call of a lifetime from Cor, who announced to them that they'd secured the headlining spot for Lucis' biggest music festival, _Rock the Rock of Ravatogh._ Noctis literally shouted for joy, causing his bandmates to raise an eyebrow. When he mouthed the news to them though, they each broke out in wide grins and high-fived. Previously Imagine Dragons had managed to hold the spot three times out of the last five years and there had been rumors that they were set to take it again. Noctis knew that Cor worked in mysterious ways but he hoped that Royal Pain in the Ass had actually been given the headline fair and square.

Actually, he didn't give a shit. They'd beaten Imagine Dragons! He whooped again and immediately got to packing up the hotel room to head out.

The traveling was slow as already thousands of attendees were trying to reach their reserved spots. As Ignis drove, crawling along behind the snaking line of cars, he muttered, "At least we packed food and supplies ahead of time. I reckon the nearby stores will be rather empty with this massive turnout."

Noctis settled back in the Regalia, staring at the blazing rivers of lava coming down the volcano in the distance. His father had relented his ban on driving the car once he'd seen that his son was making more than enough to cover any repairs. However, now his father had begun looking at magazines that sold expensive items and would even leave them lying oh-so-carelessly around the Citadel on pages with an item or five circled. Last time Noctis had checked, his father had put a star next to a stone fireplace oven that wasn't even an item for sale! It was nothing more than a background prop but his father wanted it. The prince had groaned but at least it'd give him gift options come the winter holiday.

They arrived at last at the concert grounds but instead of turning into another hotel, Ignis steered the car to one out of a cluster of trailers situated on the outskirts of the massive rows of tents. The concert would carry on for three days and two nights and there wasn't nearly enough room at the hotel to fit everyone. As for their lodgings, it'd been Noctis who'd requested their location. He chose to battle his trauma from the condition of the Hammerhead trailer in lieu of sleeping somewhere that hopefully would provide more privacy than a hotel.

However, already they had someone sitting on the front steps of the trailer and when Noctis saw who it was, he grimaced and cast a look beside him to Gladiolus. His sister, Iris, rose from the porch once she saw the vehicle and met them just as they were getting out. "You guys finally made it! I've been keeping watch on your trailer to make sure no one broke in," she giggled and gave a hug not only to Gladio but to everyone else as well. Maybe he was just on edge about her but Noctis swore she held him longer than the others. "Thanks again as well for the tickets and backstage pass, I can't wait to see you guys perform!" she said, gripping on to his jacket.

He pulled away as nicely as he could manage and instantly began to help with bringing in the gear. "You didn't have to watch over the trailer, Iris," he said to her, toting a heavy cooler up the steps. The kitchen was right next to the door and blessedly, everything was clean and polished. "If something had happened to you, Gladio would tear apart Eos to seek retribution. Why not…go back to your hotel room? " _Please?!_

"Aw, dude, that's his sister!" Prompto defended, actually bumping his shoulder as he went back out the door.

Ignis also added, "The two haven't had much time to see one another, I suppose, with us always on the road. Let the two siblings have some time to catch up." This was completed with a _do behave_ stern look.

Noctis almost shouted to the both of them "Who's side are you on?" but bit his tongue, literally. He was on the losing side of this one. As a means of escape, he went so far as to spend the evening in the kitchen with Ignis, helping to cook (read: burn) dinner.

~.~.~

The start of the concert began on Prompto's birthday, the twenty-fifth of October. Dressed in wild Halloween costumes, the crowd of fifty-thousand sang 'Happy Birthday' to the blond and though he playfully conducted them from the stage like a maestro, Noctis was close enough to see the tears in the corners of his eyes. Noctis finished off the song with a flourish of his guitar and Prompto bowed and blew kisses to the fans.

From there, Noct began the opening to 'Lucian Lullaby, one of their few successful songs on the previous album, a heavy-rock track that had the makings of an anthem. Glancing behind him, he saw that Ignis and Gladio were completely going along with the moment, both helping to provide backup volcals. He looked back out at the jumping, cheering masses, loving the lights, the music, the pure weightlessness of his soul and felt absolutely invincible. This was who they were always destined to be.

And yet, by the end of the event, he would regret it all.

~.~.~

Three days later, the festival ended and the concert grounds looked more ravaged than if the volcano actually had erupted. The nearby Crow's Nest was no longer a constant hive of activity and so the group decided to eat an early lunch there before returning back to Insomnia.

Gladio and Ignis went inside first but Noctis paused and looked at the bench just outside the restaurant, the life-sizde crow filling half of it. He sat down and crossed one leg in a similar pose to the mascot and called to Prompto, "Hey, mind taking a shot? I'm trying to get one for every Crow's Nest we come across. Gotta capture 'em all!"

"Don't ask stupid questions, you know I'm always up for a photo-shoot!" Prompto said. He picked up his camera from around his neck but pulled it away from his face to frown at it. "Hey, my shutter seems stuck. Hold on for just a sec, let me see if I can get it working again."

As he worked on the camera, Noctis hummed the famous chocobo song from the commercials, resting his head back. Suddenly, he sensed movement beside him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. He whipped his head to look at the crow, but its position seemed to still be the same. "Hey, Prom? You wanna hurry up a little?" he said, slowly looking back over at his best friend.

Prompto clicked his teeth and began to rummage in his camera bag. "Yeah, sorry, I don't know what's wrong with this thing. I'm gonna swap out the lenses and see if that helps. Give me just a moment." He worried his lip as he searched desperately for just the lens he wanted.

On the bench, Noctis broke out in a cold sweat and wanted to just get up and walk away. The pictures of him at the Crow's Nest though had become a fan favorite feature on their social media sites and he didn't want to disappoint. He rubbed his face in his hands, trying to keep it together.

When he pulled his hands away, Kenny was staring at him. "What the—?!" he yelled and scrambled away. He collided with Prompto, nearly making him drop the camera.

"Watch it!" he snarled, managing to clutch it protectively against his chest before it hit the ground. "I know I can afford a million more of these things now but this one has sentimental value!"

"Prompto, tell me you saw it!" Noctis ignored him, pointing behind him to the bench. "Tell me you saw the crow move! That thing was looking at me!"

However, Kenny was once again seated with eyes forward. Prompto shook his head in disgust and gave him a slightly hard shove back towards the bench. "You're losing it, man. Just go sit back down and let me take this picture. I almost had everything together until you knocked into me," he continued to beret the prince, but began to focus back on the contents of his bag.

Noctis knew what he'd seen though and refused to sit back down again. Instead, he stood in front of the bench, keeping a nervous eye on the bird. When at last Prompto confirmed that the camera was good to go, he held his fingers up in the cheesiest pose he could think of, a simple victory sign. He wanted this done and over with immediately.

At that moment though, Noctis' life would be flipped upside down in two ways. The first was when Kenny the Crow sprung from the bench to wrap a feathery wing around his neck, screeching "Caw, kids! Kenny the Crow says drop everything on you to the fucking ground, _now!_ Kelly, dearest, mind coming to help?"

From around the corner, a female variant of the bird happily skipped up to them. In her hand was a large bag and…a firearm. Noctis looked across at Prompto, who also had his weapon at the ready. Just as his eyes landed on it though, he felt something press into his back, something hard but small. Damnit, Kenny was packing heat as well. Even if Prompto could get off a shot, no, even if he could summon his sword, he'd probably have a hole in him before he could do any damage.

Realizing he was on the losing end, he nodded once to his friend. "The crows have us cornered, so just do as they say." Prompto grit his teeth but dissolved the weapon away. Noctis didn't move, leaving it to Kelly to frisk him and gleefully snatch his wallet from his pants and to also remove his watch. Just as she was moving over to take Prompto's items though, the door of the Crow's Nest burst open and there Gladio and Ignis stood on the doorway.

Greatswords and polearms wouldn't be fast enough but their appearance startled the birds. Almost as though _expecting_ to happen upon such a scene, Ignis swiftly carved the air with two daggers. He flung them with only a single hand but each headed in different directions. Only narrowly did they miss their marks, the two crows flapping back just in time to avoid injury.

"Caw, kids! Kenny and Kelly Crow say you've won this one! But don't let us catch ya slippin' or you might come up missin'! Stay in school and don't do drugs! CAW!" The two scurried away and Noctis was set on chasing after them but Gladiolus stopped him by yelling "Noct, wait! We got bigger fish to fry."

The two bandits got in a car parked on the side of the road and sped off. He was too far to see the license plate but he knew the vehicle make and model and began to pull out his phone to call the police. Just before pressing send, Gladio rushed over and took the phone, hanging up the call. "Didn't you just hear me? Shit just hit the fan for us. Take a look at this!" And he shoved a magazine at him.

Noctis didn't need to look hard to know it was a gossip rag, though this was a popular one called _METEOR_. The band had been featured in several similar publications, everyone desperate to be the one to get their big break from the prince. He'd toned down the previous rebellious nature of the group, mainly because it just didn't fit with Ignis and Gladio's honor codes but it also had the added result of their names appearing less and less, except for trivial things. That's what he was expecting this time, until he saw the headline and picture.

"'Prince Cheating on Princess with Under-aged Lover'?! What in the hell?" The photo was of when they'd arrived at the trailer for the concert and showed him hugging Iris. Her face was pressed to his chest as she stared up at him in rapture, her arms gripping him tightly. His "just make nice" smile didn't help the image any, either. "Gladio, it's not what it looks like…"

"Yeah, I know," his shield grunted, rubbing a hand down his scruff. "I've already called my sister and told her to not speak to anyone until I get there. She's in tears because of this crap and keeps blubbering apologies. But Noct, people love a juicy story whether it's real or not. Even if I have Iris deny everything, the truth just doesn't sound as good. I asked Iggy if we could sue for defamation but…they've covered their asses in their wording. The title of the article is a question, not a statement." He shook his head and looked away in disgust.

With heart hammering in his chest, Noctis flipped open the magazine and went to the page for the article. His eyes skimmed the speculations, the lies, and then went back to the top to find the "journalist" who'd written it. "Dino Ghiranze. Why am I not surprised?" he scoffed. Most of the articles had been written by him, a freelancer they'd had the displeasure of running into a few times due to their rising popularity. The greed for a good scoop oozed from his pores and Ignis had wisely warned them to toe the line to stay out of his crosshairs.

Credit for the photo though went to someone who seemed to only go by the name Vyv. He'd use whatever channels he had access to in order to find them but for now, they needed to go into damage control mode. He shredded the cover and article in the magazine and flung the remains to the ground, bolting back to the car.

With pedal to the metal, Ignis sped them away, racing back to Insomnia. When the roof was put back up on the vehicle, Noctis figured this was to protect them from the upcoming prying eyes but to his amazement, Ignis reached for a button that he hadn't seen previously on the steering wheel.

"If there was ever a time to use this, I would daresay it is now," The man said and from his voice, Noctis got the sense that something big was about to happen. "Seatbelts, everyone," Ignis called back. "And please put all seats in the up-right position until after take-off."

"Take-off?" Prompto inquired before a rush of G-Force slammed him back into the seat, making him quickly buckle up. The car sped up well beyond the limit shown on the dash before the roof adjusted itself, becoming more aerodynamic with a set of wings unfolding on the sides. Noctis could actually feel the rear of the car transforming against the backseat and hear the rush of power as turbines added to their velocity. Up front, the controls had swapped to become that of a pilots and by pulling back on the new wheel, Ignis began their ascent.

The whole process only took seconds and just like that, the grand, classic Regalia was flying.

* * *

Sorry things got rather dark here but I wanted something plausible for their scandal. Also, with the release of the Type-D Regalia, it made me curious to add at least one of the car's variants here. Having them drive just the typical Citadel cars isn't as fun and it probably makes it harder for you guys to imagine the scene, especially if you've not seen _Kingsglaive_ to get an example (though considering the game kind of relies heavily on needing to see the movie to fully understand the story, I'm not sure how anyone hasn't seen it, lol).


	8. Never Gonna Give You Up

Wow, I'm slacking with my Ao3 account! This chapter has been up already for a couple of days on my FFN primary account but I totally forgot to post it here. This isn't the first time this has happened, lol. Anyways, overall, it didn't take me as long to update this time but that's because I had more fun writing this chapter :)

* * *

**Never Gonna Give You Up**

"So, are you going to explain to us _how_ the Regalia is flying?" Gladiolus asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and turning his head away from the window. As Noctis watched him, he could guess he'd be the most uneasy of them all. Gladio was a wilderness man and valued stomping the relatively trustworthy ground. Except for extreme catastrophes, rarely did it disappoint. Man-made objects, however, could have some severe hit and miss rates.

Ignis lifted his right hand off the wheel, holding it up in his signature way of asking to be passed an Ebony. When Gladio didn't move, Noctis complied and pulled one out of the mini cooler behind the center console and handed it over. Popping the lid, Ignis said, "It would seem the king and Cid reconciled their differences at some point. His Majesty asked one day that I take the Regalia to the Hammerhead and after some hours, Cindy returned the car with the announcement that it could now fly. I've been testing it out and having her make some adjustments, but for the most part, it's fully functional."

Where Gladio had turned away from the glass, Prompto had pressed himself against it, looking below at the ant-like cars moving along. "This is a dream. It has to be! Somebody pinch me! Wait, no, not Gladio!" He corrected at the advancement of the larger man's hands. "Okay, so clearly this is real. But what time did you have to practice? We've been touring almost nonstop! Do you even have a license?"

"I do," Ignis said simply, sipping on his Ebony.

"How?!" Both Noctis and Prompto shouted.

Ignis glanced over at Prompto and then to the prince in the rear-view mirror. "If I couldn't do something as trivial as getting my pilot's license, what kind of butler would I be?"

Noctis was far from satisfied with that answer but he would let it go. Ignis worked in mysterious ways. Got it. "Where are we going to land this thing? Is there some kind of runway at the Citadel I've not been told about?"

"The entrance roadway of the Citadel will have to suffice," Ignis shook his head lamentably. "I've practiced landing within short spaces so we should be fine. The most recent Regalia upgrade was to include a hover mode so that a helipad could be built instead of a runway but Cindy was having trouble finding the parts for that."

Noctis gave a scoff. "But she was able to find the parts to make an entire car fly. Well…so long as things are good between them and Dad, no complaints here. Wait…what money do they have for all of this?" The reason they'd been conned was supposedly due to times being hard for them.

The way Ignis sighed, Noctis knew he was getting tired of being bombarded with questions, but he figured it served him right for keeping such a massive secret to himself. "It seems Cindy's been able to secure some sort of TV deal with a parts manufacturer, the same one that provided the parts to restore the car the first time. For her advertising having their parts at the Hammerhead, she's been allowed access to more odds and ends to upgrade vehicles. And yes, that includes enough parts to make a car fly. Now, are there any _other_ questions you lot would like to ask or are we done here?" he said tersely.

"Yeah, just one," Gladio spoke up. "How do you plan to fly this thing through the Wall?"

"The Wall—? Oh…son of a—"

However, disaster was narrowly averted due to his quick thinking. He jerked the wheel and the car glided alongside the Wall, following it up as it curved over the city. "Noct! Call your father and tell him to let the barrier down. I shall only need a second."

Noctis immediately got on the phone and speed-dialed his father. It picked up immediately, as was Regis' way when it came to him. "Noctis…" his father began and Noctis knew he'd again seen the news.

"Dad, not now! Let the Wall down for Ignis so he can land the Regalia!"

"Fine. Once here though, come to my study immediately." The line disconnected and a moment later, the shimmering Wall dissolved away. Ignis dipped the car down steeply and had only just made it through when the hexagonal plates restored themselves.

They flew over the roadways which would ensure they didn't hit any buildings until the twin towers of the Citadel came into view. Ordinarily, one would be halted by the gated entrance but the car simply cleared over it. With the palace steps only five-hundred feet away, Ignis dipped into a steep descent. "This might be a hard landing so hold on tight!" he advised.

The car vibrated as the wheels unfolded and the gliding fins were maneuvered to aid in slowing them down. They tapped the ground once and then bounced down, the wings and other parts slipping back into unknown places with the likeness of a Transformer. They cruised to a stop directly parallel to the front steps with no evidence that the car had ever been airborne.

"That was a close one," Noctis released a shaky breath.

"Too close for comfort," Gladio agreed, already opening his door.

Ignis clicked his tongue at the both of them. "I'm comfortable just being alive." He remained in the car as the three got out before driving the car around the side which would lead to the underground garage.

As they climbed the steps, Noctis told them, "Dad wants to speak with me alone but I'm going to let you follow me in. I think he'll trust all four of us if we talk to him rather than just me."

"Yeah, we've got your back, buddy," Prompto promised, giving a light slap. Gladio gave an affirmative grunt.

Reconnecting with Ignis from dropping off the car, they made their way to the king's study. Upon entering, they saw that Clarus, Cor and Ignis' uncle were also there along with Regis. They looked up simultaneously, with expressions varying from worried to furious.

Clarus moved first, storming up to Gladio and snatching him by the ear. As though his son were still a child, he admonished, "That is your sister! You're supposed to protect her! How could you allow this to happen and to bring shame to our family?"

"I didn't do anything!" Gladiolus actually whined, futilely trying to pry his father's hand away.

"Exactly! And that's precisely the problem!" His father pulled all the harder on him.

As the two continued to trade words, Ignis' uncle stepped forward to his nephew. He was a man of similar height and build, both even wearing glasses. Their main physical differences were the professionally-styled black hair of the older man and his matching trimmed moustache. "Ignis," he spoke, his voice carrying the same Tenebrae-educated accent that Ignis possessed.

Ignis said nothing, only hung his head with deflated shoulders.

"I am aware this is not your doing. However, you have aligned yourself with—" he glanced behind him to the king, who bore into his back with an expectant stare. "—Those of…questionable repute," he put delicately, turning back around before he could see Regis starting to pull himself up. Cor frantically waved for the king to calm down.

"The Scientia family prides itself on our sound judgement," his uncle continued, choosing to ignore the incident behind him. "This is why we've served as close advisors to the Lucian kingdom." Here, he cast Clarus a scowl that was unseen as the man continued to beret his own son. Noctis saw it though and wondered why indeed his father had chosen Clarus Amacitia, who should've only been his shield, to instead be his close confidant. Clearly this change had caused a very quiet grudge to form.

"Due to these recent events, however, it would seem you've done poorly to guide the young prince to act in a way befitting his role."

_I'm twenty-one, not two,_ Noctis dismissed the 'young prince' comment.

"To that end, a punishment is required. You were working on having a book published of your culinary creations. In order to keep our name further out of the media, I have called to have it cancelled."

The words hit with the force of a slap to Ignis. He stumbled backwards, continuously shaking his head in disbelief. "Uncle…no! Anything but that! I worked hard to come up with those  _recipehs_!"

"To be fair, Ignis, most of those _recipehs_ were taken from your culinary escapades around Lucis. You barely came up with anything," his uncle cruelly thwarted him off.

With verbal shots being fired, Ignis went down. He slumped against the back wall, glasses askew as he watched his life's work vanish before his eyes.

At last, Cor came forward though Regis stayed put. "Twice in a single year I've had to do damage control for you," Cor told Noctis, making him duck his head. "I don't know how much I can do to fix this one as you've pretty much pulled all of us down with you. So, with that, Your Highness, I'm officially resigning from my position as your manager." He gave a short bow and began to head towards the door.

"Wait, what?" Noctis objected, whipping around to watch him go. "You're just leaving? Just like that?"

Cor gave a hapless shrug. "What do you want me to do? You're innocent in the court's eye but the eye of the public isn't as forgiving. You know what they say: fifteen will get you twenty. Your career is pretty much over. I already emailed the record company my resignation letter. Sorry, prince," he said with little remorse. He slipped out the door and Noctis didn't try to stop him again.

With trembling hands, he slowly faced his father. "What, are you also going to try to disown me?" he muttered bitterly.

"The backlash from that would supersede even this story," Regis said calmly, to which Noctis almost twisted his words to mean 'I would if I could, but I can't.' But that was likely his fragile emotions at the moment talking. The king pulled from a drawer several newspapers and magazines, all from that day. As Noctis read the headlines, each became worse and worse.

"Is Royal Pain in the Ass finished?!"

"Royal Pain in the Ass no Longer a Pain in Our Ass!"

"Super-star group Royal Pain in the Ass is now FUCKED! Lube not included!"

He remembered seeing unoriginal headlines like these back when their first album failed to secure the public's approval, even if many curious souls had bought it. In only a few short years, he'd gone from being at the bottom of the list, barely a blip on the radar, to internationally recognized. He definitely wasn't ready to give that up, not without a fight. With challenging eyes, he looked at his father but called out, "Gladio, Ignis, Prompto."

Clarus let go of his son with a slight push and Gladio risked throwing a glare his way before stepping up beside Noctis. With an immense effort, Ignis also pushed himself off the floor, though he still looked rather pallid and frail. Lastly, the blond shooter came forward, having opted to hang back as the situation in the room escalated. He looked to his best friend and gave him a nod which consisted of one part resolution and one part apprehension. He wasn't certain what good he could do but he was here until the end.

Continuing to stare at his father, Noctis announced, "We're not giving up so easily. I'll win back our fans and restore the image of the Caelum, Scientia and Amacitia households! I am the star of Lucis and this star isn't done shining yet." _So damn cool!_

His retinue nodded beside him and with curt bows, they exited the study. Noctis was the last to turn to leave but before he could go, Regis called out his name. "I appreciate your tenacity, my son, but do be careful not to exacerbate the problem."

"Exa…cerbate?"

"Yes, exacerbate. To worsen. Mind out of the gutter, Noct."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Even though Cor has resigned from being your manager, he's still employed here and thus holds sway in certain circles. I'll have him do what he does best to clean all of this up," the king informed him gravely.

"Dare I ask for the details?" Noctis wondered.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to," Regis quoted Cor.

With their conversation seemingly finished, Noctis finally turned to go but his father called out to him one last time. "Um…one final piece of business, Noctis," Regis said, beginning to nervously twiddle his thumbs. "Did you happen to see the latest issue of _DIY Weekly_ …"

"Dad, I'm not getting you a stone oven," Noctis preempted him.

"Oh. Well, it was worth a try," Regis shrugged and waved a hand to dismiss him. Once his son was gone though, he pulled out the magazine and opened it up to the page he'd circled, giving a longing sigh.


	9. Miss Fortune and Sir-Prise

**Miss Fortune and Sir-Prise**

By the time Noctis reached his apartment that evening, he was completely wiped. Prompto had been dropped back off at his house as well was Gladio, who would usually sleep at the Citadel when training new Kingsglaive recruits. However, the four had already discussed that they would hold a press conference tomorrow with Iris taking front and center, no matter what Clarus wished. With luck, all of this would be washed away in a few weeks and they could resume touring. They had a few shows coming up in Tenebrae at the end of next month and at last, for the first time in over twelve years, he'd get to see Luna.

Instead of also dropping him off and returning home, Ignis accompanied Noctis inside the apartment and Noctis didn't protest. The man looked probably the worst out of all of them. There was a second bedroom for times like this but also Ignis had reminded the king that his son was not one for early mornings…or house cleaning. Or cooking. Or pretty much all domestic tasks. While his advisor tried not to impose too much, Noctis couldn't deny the convenience of having him simply stay over.

Since Noctis rarely drove (which was why the Star was kept at the Citadel instead of at the apartment), not staying over would mean Ignis would have to drive to come pick him up in the mornings and let himself in with the spare key. Sometimes, though rarely, this could also mean no breakfast from him. And Noctis just didn't feel like himself for the day if he didn't start it off right with an Ignis breakfast.

Upon entering the apartment, Noctis muttered a goodnight and headed straight to his bedroom. After a quick shower in the adjoined bathroom, he stepped out the room to grab a bite before heading to bed. As he rounded the corner, he saw the telltale flickering of a TV being on and quietly entered the darkened living room to see Ignis sitting on the couch. Creeping up stealthily, he was just able to make out the side of the man's face…which had tear tracks running down his closed eyes.

His heart stopped for a moment. Never had he seen Ignis cry before. He looked up at the TV to see what was playing and saw a Scottish man screaming in someone's face and muttering "fuck me" a lot. He then looked down at an untidy pile of DVD's that had been scattered on the floor. It looked to be the entire collection for _Hell's Kitchen_ and _Kitchen Nightmares_ with Gordon Ramsay. As Ignis gave a wet sniffle in his sleep, Noctis covered his mouth and tiptoed back to his room.

He mentioned nothing of what he'd seen to Ignis the next day.

~.~.~

At the Citadel, he dressed in one of his best suits but held up two ties, one light blue and one that was black. Turning to the men in the room, he asked, "Which one?"

"Blue!" Prompto recommended, though for himself, he'd chosen to dress in his normal attire. "It brings out your eyes!"

Noctis gave a slight frown of consideration and looked to Ignis. "Black," came the response. "This is a serious moment. Black is neutral and yet powerful. It'll show that you're not taking this lightly."

Noctis agreed and put the blue tie back, ignoring Prompto's "hmph!" He tried tying it for exactly ten seconds before Ignis crossed the room and did it for him. "Honestly, you should know how to do this by now. Didn't you have to wear a tie with your school uniform?"

"Yeah, but Prompto tied them for me," he admitted.

"Prompto?!" Ignis turned to look at the blond sprawled out on the bed, reading one of Noct's comics. "Impossible."

"HEY! I heard that!"

"You were meant to," Ignis confirmed.

For a moment, the other looked like he was going to argue, but with a released breath, he let it go, snuggling back down and returning to the book. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a comment," he commented.

From the door came a quick knock and Noctis called for them to enter. Gladiolus slipped through the door and shut it behind him. He too had squeezed himself into a suit, looking like a professional wrestler that had instead chosen to interview for an office job. "Hey, we ready yet? I've already spoken to my sis but she's not handling the anxiety well. I've already been bitched at by my old man three times today so the sooner we can get this over with, the better."

"Almost," Ignis replied, then looked back at Prompto. "You're the only one not in a suit. Noct, loan him one. We've already discussed these issues about not matching. You'll stand out dressed as you are."

Surprisingly, Prompto closed the comic and rolled nimbly off the mattress to his feet, quickly springing back up. "Wait, I get to wear one of His Royal Highness' suits?! Jackpot!" He instantly dashed to the closet and began to thumb through everything in sight. He pulled back with one that was still wrapped in plastic from the dry cleaners. "How about this one?"

"Umm…" Noctis blushed. "That's…for my wedding. I mean, whenever Luna and I get married. But hey, it might not even fit by then! I mean, we're not getting married anytime soon…it might be a long time. A very…very long time, haha." He forced himself to not crack. "And if it doesn't fit, then I'll give it to you! And uh…you know. I'll just wear another one." He shut his mouth, blinking at the floor.

Playing oblivious to his friend's mini-meltdown, Prompto shrugged and hung it back up, choosing a gray suit that was still just as stylish. "I'll wear this instead. Aaand…" he plucked the previous blue tie from a shelf. "This!" After dressing with guidance from the closet mirror, he turned around, one hand placed casually in the pants pocket like a model. "I make this look _good_."

"And every suit needs a watch as well," Ignis added, handing him one from Noct's watch display on the dresser. "This should do. "

Prompto grinned as he put it on, turning the watch face to see it shimmer. "Wow, you really know your fashion, Iggy!"

With a simple press to his frames, Ignis flashed his glasses, a haughty look in his eyes. "That would be from my days in Milan," he demonstrated with an upturned chin, as though ready to walk down a runway that instant.

"Yeah, well, this ain't _GQ_ ," Gladio barked. "Let's go already. The press is already here." Swinging open the door, he stood aside to let Noctis go through first before following his lead.

Near the front entrance stood Iris, her father and king Regis. Noctis raised an eyebrow at the sight of his father. Usually his dad only made public appearances if absolutely necessary, especially after his leg became weak from having to hold up the Wall. He didn't like the public to see his deteriorating health, though Noctis disagreed. He silently thought his father should show himself more, let people see the cost it took for him to protect the city and appreciate that he wasn't just a king sitting pretty on a throne. It was an argument he didn't want to vocalize though, because saying it out loud would make it all the more real for him, that his father was rapidly dying right before his eyes.

Maybe he would get him that stone oven after all.

Noctis opened his mouth to comment on his father's appearance in the entrance but the man only gave a somber nod before sweeping away back towards the elevators. So much for moral support!

Instead, that left him with Iris and Clarus. The man glared at Noctis as he approached and Noctis found himself staring back. "I didn't _do_ anything," he said with vehemence, knowing he was out of line. Though Noctis was of higher rank as the prince, Clarus answered to his father. And it'd been made clear that anything done to the king's inner circle would be handled by the king. In short, talking back to this man was the same as talking back to his father. Remembering that, Noctis obediently lowered his eyes. "I swear I didn't do anything."

From beside him, Gladio suddenly cleared his throat. "This…is partially my fault. I sort of encouraged her crush on you. I even had you pick flowers for her that one time. Damnit, I'm sorry, Noct." He looked upon his prince with pained eyes. "Can you forgive me for just wanting to make my sis happy?"

Turning away from the father to address the son, Noctis gave a light shrug. "I been forgave you. This isn't _anyone's_ fault. Just some stupid reporters trying to stir things up. I'm like Scarface, everyone wants to bring me down."

"Not a good analogy, buddy," Prompto advised.

Undaunted, Noctis turned to the front doors and threw them open. There, at the bottom of the front steps, were well over two dozen reporters. Cameras instantly flashed and he was glad it wasn't nighttime or else he would've been instantly blinded. He carefully made his way down and stepped behind the podium that had been placed there, fitted with several microphones. The stand also had a transparent scrolling screen which had his speech, written by their head of public relations. He'd read the speech already and approved it but he'd never had to speak like this before and wasn't sure how it'd come off.

He cleared his throat, then winced at the returned echo. "G-good morning. Today you are here because you've heard…some unsettling information. You…have…heard…that I am…in a relationship…with…okay, you know what? Screw the teleprompter." The scrolling words were just too distracting. He ripped a microphone off the stand and stepped away from the podium.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!" Ignis hissed.

"Speaking the truth and not some rehearsed lines that make me sound even more guilty," Noctis said and the crowd took a step closer to him. "Look, that _Meteor_ article isn't true. Iris," he gestured to the girl, "Is the sister of one of my best friends. We grew up together. She's like a sister to me. And besides, I…I love Luna," he gulped and a few of the more sympathetic reporters aww'd. "Iris knows this and would never do anything to infringe on that." Actually, she sort of had. Multiple times. But now wasn't the time to say that. "Luna, now and forever, is the only one for me. So why don't you put that in your articles."

He was just about to drop the mic and saunter back inside when a reporter called out, "Is that your response to Lady Lunafreya's message this morning?"

Noctis froze before quickly turning to Ignis. The man shook his head slightly, eyes wide and frightened. Shit, the media had info he hadn't even received. This wasn't good. He decided to go with the best answer he could until he researched the issue. "Um…no comment?"

"Oh really? No comment to the fact that she's called off the wedding?"

"What the—!" Noctis began and the cameras snapped all the more wildly. He caught himself but he knew he'd been thoroughly beaten. What he'd mistaken earlier as a few reporters touched by his declaration of love was actually their sound of pity for a man that had just been publicly dumped. Why would Luna tell them first and not him? His mind was swirling too much and he'd already kept the people waiting too long for an answer but he honestly didn't know what to say—

He was saved by Ignis taking his mic and repeating, "No further comment," before taking his shoulders and pushing him back up the stairs. As he was ushered along, Noctis realized that this was the real reason for the large turnout. The news of his picture with Iris had only reached gossip rags. The news of a royal split would have perforated every type of news outlet available.

Once they were safely inside, his advisor whipped out his phone and checked the first news site his fingers could key in. "Oh gods…the press conference has already gone up. And just twenty minutes before we stepped out, the news about Luna broke. Certainly the news sites must've been hounding her as well. By the way, _did_ you ever speak to Lady Lunafreya?"

Noctis numbly shook his head, too stunned to speak.

Iris suddenly put her face in her hands and cried, "It's all my fault!" Gladio pulled her to him, wrapping his arms protectively around his sister.

"Hey, no it's not!" Prompto patted her lightly. "Luna's not the kind to believe in that trashy stuff. She wouldn't break up with Noct over something like that! But…" Then why?

Slowly, Noctis pulled his own phone out. A text message from Luna had been sent to him just an hour earlier. The contents only said 'Call me.' He let the phone slip out his hand, the screen cracking as it hit the tile. He wouldn't remember that. He also wouldn't remember hitting the elevator button for his personal floor or dragging himself down the hallway. He reached his old bedroom, shut the door, and locked it in the faces of his trailing friends. Alone, he curled up on the bed and wept.

* * *

I warred with if I wanted to really have something so heavy in this story and I figured we could go that direction and still keep the overall comical tone. The game hits us with Regis' death early on and yet somehow, the chocobros still manage to joke around and crack pun after horrible pun…oh, the horrible puns, XD! So, things will lighten up again next chapter.

Also...Ignis' "Milan" comment was taken from a line Adam Croasdell, his VA, actually said during a cast livestream event where he played the game for the first time. The way he snapped into character to say it made me love Ignis all the more :)


	10. Reclaim What is Yours

As promised, this chapter lightens things back up again!

* * *

 

**Reclaim What is Yours**

Night had long fallen by the time Noctis pulled himself remotely together. It was ten at night in Lucis meaning it would be two in the morning for Tenebrae. Perfect.

He fumbled for his phone and was surprised when he didn't feel it. Where had it…? He sat up stiffly and checked his nightstands and saw nothing. Climbing off the massive bed, he went to the door and tried to open it, but the knob wouldn't turn. Oh, right…he'd locked it. Flipping the switch on the handle, he pulled the door open sharply all for a body to spill over at his feet.

"AH!" he jumped back. The figure didn't move from its spot on the floor, though its chest did rise and fall steadily.

He crept over to his light switch and flipped it on. With the room brightened, he could see who it was that had camped out in front of his room. He didn't need to look any further than the shock of blonde hair.

Prompto lay curled on his side, still dressed in his suit as his normal outfit had been barricaded in the room. Noctis looked closer and saw that he was clutching something: his cell phone. Quietly, he reached over and yanked it out, noting the shattered screen with a grimace. He knew his friend hadn't done this; for all his awkwardness, Prompto treated all forms of tech with pure reverence. A scratch on his phone screen would be enough to send him into a panic. He must've dropped it himself at some point and here his friend was, simply trying to return it to him. It warmed his heart, something he really needed at that moment.

He pressed the power button on the phone and was thrilled to see the screen come to life. Good, he hadn't completely destroyed it. He opened his contacts and dialed one of the names on the relatively short list. "Hey, you awake? Good, I need help disposing of a body." He ended the call before the other person could say anything else.

Gladio was there in thirty seconds.

"The hell is this about you needing to dump a body?" He muttered as he stood in front of the open door but then he looked down and saw Prompto. "Oh. Yeah, I can handle this." With ease, he wrapped Prompto in one of the rugs on the floor and hoisted him over a shoulder. "Consider it done, prince," he assured and gave a two-fingered salute.

"Thanks, Gladio. Knew I could count on you."

The man strolled from the room, shutting the door behind himself. Noctis had just pulled up his contacts again to make another call when he heard "HEY, DON'T KILL ME, BIG GUY!" in Prompto's voice. His yells faded away as the pair moved down the hall though Prompto was spouting something about MT's and Niflheim…

It didn't concern him. He pressed another name on the list, sitting back on his bed with a pillow to his chest, calming his nerves.

The line picked up. "Noctis! I'm so sorry! I—"

"Luna, it's fine. I just wanted to say that I wish you luck for your future. You deserve it." He wasn't sure what he was saying but it sounded like the right thing to say.

"You have no idea what you're saying, do you?" She called him out.

"Not at all."

"Noct, I tried to give you a warning when I texted you. Ravus told me yesterday—right before we got wind of your press conference—that he was telling the media that he wouldn't allow for me to have anything to do with you. He got to the cameras before I could. But, when the news channels asked me to confirm for him, to confirm that it was true that the wedding was off…well…I wanted to be honest. And I honestly don't want to marry you, Noctis. At the very least, not yet. I didn't want to call my brother a liar on the telly so I…ended up confirming what he said. When I tried to add on that last part, nobody cared to listen. They had what they wanted and that's all that mattered. I'm so sorry, Noctis. You didn't deserve to be shamed like that."

Noctis had been prepared for a passive-aggressive conversation, like suburban-mom frenemies, and was caught off guard by how much she still cared about him. After Ignis, she was his longest friend, of course she'd care. Besides, never did the Cosmogony state that the Oracle and the Kings of Lucis had to marry; his father hadn't married Queen Sylva. It just stated that the Oracle was to aid the King. And if that meant to aid as only a friend, then…he could learn to accept that. In truth, their "wedding" had never been officially announced. It was simply assumed, another juicy gossip piece. For twelve years, Noctis had allowed himself to get caught up in it. Never again.

Their conversation concluded at nearly four in the morning her time in which she promised that if the band was still together, the next time they were in Tenebrae, she'd be there front and center. That was more than enough for him to forgive her. He hung up the phone with high spirits, an almost foreign feeling after so many days of tension.

Speaking of which…this wasn't over yet. The media might've gotten their precious views and ratings from dragging his name through the mud and were now finished with him, but the real ones responsible still hadn't been handled. He said he'd make them pay for tarnishing his family's name, along with the families for Gladio and Ignis and likely Prompto as well. The niceties were finished; now it was time for the gloves to come off.

~.~.~

"Aw, man, _another_ road trip? We just got back into Insomnia!" Prompto complained as he stacked camping chairs into the trunk of the Regalia. "I only got to sleep in my bed once! And I spent last night rolled tighter than a chalupa on Cinco de Mayo! Can't we spend just a _little_ more time here?"

"Stop bitching and keep packing!" Gladio thundered, pushing him aside to shove the tent in with the rest of the gear.

"What Gladio said," Noctis shrugged, placing a small pot into the back.

Gladio saw him and grunted. "And you need to get your rear in gear and actually grab a bag or something. We ain't got all day. I'm ready to punch someone's face in for what they did to us."

Noctis shook his head at him, pulling a duffle bag of food on the ground that was too heavy for him to carry. Gladio snatched it from him and tossed it in, looking at the prince with disappointment. Noctis ignored it and said, "Now, Gladio, violence isn't the answer. Unless someone says something offensive, then physical punches are fair game."

"And I'm rather certain His Majesty would disagree with His Highness on that," Ignis chimed in from the front seat of the car.

"Why aren't you helping?!" Prompto yelled at him.

"Because I have to pilot this thing and I need to be at peak condition. If that's alright with you?" Ignis eyed him as he sipped his Ebony.

Simultaneously, Prompto, Noctis and Gladio shouted, "We're flying again?!" with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Do you wish to fly?" Ignis asked

"YES!" Noctis and Prompto shouted.

"NO!" Gladio objected.

"Flying it is," the advisor shrugged.

Gladio chose to move _very_ slowly with packing the rest of the gear. Prompto and Noctis though sped up and with the car stuffed, the two eagerly climbed in, fastening seat belts that resembled what would be found in a jet. With absolute reluctance, Gladiolus got in as well, instantly pulling out a book and hiding his face away.

Just as the car was started up, a figure appeared at the top of the Citadel steps. Noctis saw it was Cor and felt a river of mixed emotions flow through him. The man had ditched them when they'd really needed him but Cor had always been so trustworthy. He'd always been a natural-born mover and shaker and could be counted on to get things done, even the dirty things that most others wouldn't do. That tenacity is exactly what had earned him a spot beside the king at only fifteen.

Now he quickly descended the steps, approaching Noctis with several papers in hand, but also sporting a purple eye and several bandaged fingers. "Hey, prince! You're just going to rush into battle without any info on your enemies? C'mon, don't be that dumb. In fact, as his Crownsguard, the rest of you ought to be ashamed, too."

Prompto and Gladio ignored the jab but Ignis primly drew himself up. "I'll have you know—!"

"Yeah, whatever. Look, Noct, sorry about the ditching you as your manager thing but I couldn't operate the way I needed to if my hands were tied with that kind of label. Anyways, I was able to ask around and call on some favors from some people that owed me."

He held out the papers and as Noctis took them, glancing again at his condition, he wondered not for the first time if Cor actually had ties with some kind of mafia. If so, then likely he had _them_ twisted around his finger and not the other way around.

Continuing, Cor said, "I already had a… _conversation_ with Vyv and Dino, the photographer and the scumbag reporter. Dino says that Vyv asked him to write the article since that kind of trash is his bread and butter. However, Vyv didn't even take that photo. He said he was handed it by some guy named Ardyn. Ardyn Izunia or something. The guy just walked up and handed it to him and said that he was free to take credit for it himself. Supposedly, the guy wanted nothing in return, saying that the aftermath would be payment enough."

Three sets of eyes twisted around to look at Noctis. "Ardyn…I've heard that name before," Gladio began to think.

"That guy at the Galdin Quay! The one that wanted our autograph!" Prompto rushed out.

"Precisely the one," Ignis nodded with a finger pressed to his chin. "Though…why would he be so adamant on ruining Noct's name?"

Noctis folded the papers and stuffed them in the pocket behind Ignis' seat. "Don't know and don't care. But if he's the one that started this, then we're gonna finish it. Let's go."

"Hold up now, there's one more thing." Cor lowered his voice, causing all four to lean closer. "That Ardyn guy is no joke. Seems like he rubs shoulders with the Nifs. In fact, he does more than rub shoulders. He's in bed with them, more specifically, he's the Chancellor of the Niflheim army. My intel tells me someone by that name has been spotted around Lucis but I don't have anything definite. If the breadcrumbs lead to him having gone back to Niflheim, promise me you'll call off the hunt. You four would be obliterated and you know the King wouldn't rest until he personally avenged you."

Noctis had only seen his father fight once, a time when their convoy was attacked when he was eight. His father had actually conjured the armiger and had launched himself into battle alongside his Glaives, back before his leg had been weakened by the Wall. The fanatical look in his eye as he warped around the battlefield had scared him and yet, he knew then that his father would move Eos, heaven and hell to protect him and would easily lay down his life for vengeance.

Swallowing, Noctis gave his word. "We won't attack Niflheim. We'll keep it here in Lucis. But do you know where the last sighting of Ardyn was?"

"Yeah, supposedly he's renting a sea-side cottage in Cape Caem. Oh, and, I gotta insist…when you find him, make sure you don't do anything I wouldn't do, got it?"

Noctis blinked innocently. "You mean extortion, torture and blackmailing?"

"Yeah, that stuff!" Cor clapped him on the shoulder with his uninjured hand. "You're a good kid, Noct. Good luck!" He trotted back up the steps and slipped inside the Citadel with the stealth of a shadow.

Ignis put the car in gear and folded the roof up as they began to drive. "Well now, that greatly helps. Most definitely we're flying then. Hopefully we can catch him before he moves locations."

Gladio turned a shade of green that nearly matched the cover of his book.

"Alright, let's do this! For hearth and home!" Prompto shouted.

"…I think that's the battle cry for the people of Galahd," Noctis informed him but he had to admit, he did like the sound of it. "Alright, yeah…for hearth and home!"

"Indeed," Ignis smiled as the Regalia began to take flight.


	11. One More For the Road

This chapter in truth has little to do with the full events of the story, but it was something I wanted to add for giggles anyways.

* * *

**One More for the Road**

They had only just cleared the Wall and made it past Hammerhead when their progress was hindered by a violent sandstorm. Ignis turned on the hi-beam lights in an attempt to clear his line of sight but it proved useless. "Visibility is poor. Unfortunately, the cruising altitude of the Regalia is less than even most planes will fly at so we're unable to fly over the storm. Once we make it away from these dusty plains, we should have a clear shot straight to Cape Caem. Apologies for the delay."

"Knew we should've just driven," Gladio groaned only loud enough for Noctis to hear him.

"It'd take us days to reach what will only take a few hours in the air," Noctis said to him and gave a light nudge with his elbow. "Give this a few minutes and the weather will clear up. You'll see."

In reply, Gladio sat up and actually pressed himself to the window. "Only thing I see is that  _thing_ right there."

Hearing him, Ignis asked, "What's that?"

"I dunno. Something dark. And massive." He squinted. "And it's moving."

"Wait, what?!" Were the last words said by Noctis before the Regalia was struck down.

Whatever it was took off one of the wings. Noctis actually saw it, a dark maw opened up and then the wing was gone, snapped off with the ease of a KitKat bar. Instantly, the car went into a violent tailspin, centrifugal force pressing him tightly against the door.

"This is the end! Noct, Gladio, Ignis, it was nice knowing you!" Prompto whined.

The altitude shown on the dash was rapidly decreasing, showing they only had a few seconds left. "Ignis, do something!" Noctis frantically demanded.

"I've come up with—"

"NOT THE TIME!" The others screamed at him.

"There's  _always_ time for a new recipe," Ignis grumbled. "But fair enough. There's no saving the car so I suggest we eject." With a glance to ensure everyone was strapped in, he flipped up the tip on the gear shift like something out of a spy movie and pressed a button. The lid of the Regalia detached, whipping them with the stinging sand. Simultaneously, the four seats were flung into the air. With no assistance needed, each deployed a parachute and though they were still battered by the wind, the four drifted relatively safely to the ground.

It was as though the storm was waiting on their landing. Almost instantaneously, the sand cleared and the group found themselves in the rolling plains of Leide. Noctis unstrapped himself from his parachute and was thrilled to see three other forms struggling out from underneath theirs. "We're actually alive…you're a lifesaver, Ignis!" He ran over to his advisor and hugged him, something he'd never done before. "I'll let you cook whatever recipe you came up with today; you're amazing!"

"Come now, it's nothing, really," Ignis blushed, removing his glasses from his pocket where he'd stored them for safe keeping. "If I couldn't eject us safely from a flying vehicle at ten-thousand feet above the ground and a cruising speed of 250 miles per hour during a violent sandstorm all while coming up with a new delectable meal, what kind of butler would I be?"

Noctis had nothing.

"Hey, we have bigger issues," Gladio announced and pointed ahead. "Much bigger…"

The familiar large rocks that'd always shadowed the Leide plains suddenly roared, causing the ground to shake and knock them off their feet. What had been mistaken as simply a small mountain revealed itself to be the shell of…

"Dude, it's a turtle!" Prompto screamed ecstatically. "Oh man, where's my camera?! Aw, crap, it was in the car! Noooooo!" He fell to his knees as another roar knocked them down.

"Cellphone camera, Prom," Noctis recommended, getting back up and conjuring a sword. "Hurry it up though. We're gonna have to take this thing down."

Prompto did as told and snapped a few pictures. Sniffling as he checked the quality, he asked, "Do we have to? It's not hurting anyone. Besides, that thing is HUGE! Can we really take it down?"

Charging forward, Noctis yelled, "I have to avenge the Regalia!" With a warp-strike, he was gone.

"What the hell is up with the suicidal royalty of Lucis?!" Gladio thundered after him, nearly ripping his hair out. "And as his Shield I have to protect him! Damnit…this is not gonna be pretty." But it was time to put up and shut up. Withdrawing his greatsword, he took off after him, followed by the other two.

Many hours later and at last, the legendary adamantoise was down. "Whoo-hoo, we're alive!" Prompto cheered and high-fived everyone. "Let's celebrate by eating something dead!" He looked hopefully to Ignis.

For the first time though, Ignis had to shake his head no. "Unfortunately, the choicest morsels are underneath the shell…a shell that is a mountain. There's no way to get to it. This also being said, now there's a dead adamantoise that will begin to rot. The smell will surely spread throughout the country…and beyond. I think we may have acted too soon."

"…I didn't think that far ahead," Noctis admitted. "Wanna bail?"

"Yep," Gladio said.

"Totally," Prompto agreed.

"With haste," Ignis urged.

With that, they quickly scurried to the safety of the Hammerhead. Initially, the premises seemed empty but as they approached the garage, the door peeked open for a moment before lifting completely. Out stepped Cindy, Cid, Takka and several customers.

"Is that thing gone now?" Cindy asked with a tremor to her voice.

"Yeah, it's gone," Prompto crooned, sliding next to her and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder. "We took care of it."

"PROMPTO!" The group shouted.

"Aw, damn, I forgot just that quickly!" The blonde face-palmed.

Cid eased himself into his usual chair, looking rather pallid. "That thing popped up out of nowhere. Been had this garage for generations and never has anyone in the family seen that mountain move. You boys sure did a fine job and saved us all. I certainly owe ya an apology for the way I treated you last time."

Noctis smiled at him and waited.

"So! How's about ya'll go and fetch that adamantoise meat and we can have ourselves a cookout!"

_That's not an apology!_ Noctis wanted to tell him but let it go. They were back on good terms and he didn't want to ruin it. However, he unfortunately had to reveal, "There's no way to get the meat. Killing it was one thing but…not sure how we can harvest it."

"What's that?" Cid cupped an ear. "You mean to tell me you killed that thing and you ain't got no way to get the good stuff? Damnit, boy, get your father on the phone! Reggie'll have the answer."

"NO!" Noctis interjected. "I mean…I'll…come up with something." He was already dead once his father found out about the certainly irreparable damage to the car. He wanted to prolong what little time he had left. But…just in case there was any hope…

"Hey, Cindy," he turned to the woman, who was peeling Prompto's arm off of her. "We…had another accident with the Regalia. The adamantoise damaged it and it went down. If you could retrieve it, do you think you could fix it up again?"

She twisted her mouth, placing a hand on her trim waist. "Dunno, prince. Sounds like you're askin' the impossible outta me. But I'll darn sure try. And…this time, I'll put you on an installment plan to pay me back. We're doing much better with that fancy TV deal I landed so you ain't gotta worry about having everything up front."

Noctis thanked the Astrals for small wonders.

It took over a week though for most of the parts of the car to be scoured, many pieces being flung hundreds of feet apart. Each time a truck came back full of random odds and ends, he felt his heart sink more and more. Regis was going to eviscerate him. There was no way the Star of Lucis would be seen as enough of a payback. He began to rarely move from his bed in the trailer.

And yet, at the end of three weeks, Cindy knocked on the door to announce, "The old gal's ready! Come take a look!"

With bated breath, Noctis dragged himself over to the garage. The door opened with a dramatic slowness and out drove…a monster truck?

Cindy hopped out the vehicle and leaned casually against a tire that was as tall as her. "Considering how much ya'll damaged the girl, I finally have the parts to allow her to withstand the toughest of abuse. The body is made from a thin yet highly durable material and the shocks will absorb impacts from most drops. The vehicle is equipped with anti-roll features but should ya take a spill, the rollbar on top should put you back on your feet like a cat.

"Unfortunately, there ain't a way to just press a button to make her look all small and cute again so you'll have to come see me to restore it back to normal. But I figured having it look like this will sustain you 'till you're done with your business outside the city," she shrugged. "Once you're done, stop by again and I'll fix 'er up just right so that your daddy won't ever know the difference," she winked.

With eternal gratitude, Noctis paid up the entire price right then and there. He was about to hand the keys to Ignis when the man frowned and took a step back. "I'm not driving that. It's positively undignified!"

"I'll do it!" Gladio surprisingly shouted. "I was MADE for this!"

Noctis blinked and handed him the keys. "Fine, but let's head back to the adamantoise first. I think I have an idea of what we can do about it…"

Noctis' brilliant solution was to Freeze it. "Shiva, come to me!" he shouted, holding an arm up to the sky and beckoning the Glacian.

Gentiana strolled out from seemingly nowhere as was her way, though this time with a look of trepidation on her face as she approached. Noctis remembered their last meeting and blushed. "I, um…need for you to freeze this thing. If you could," he mumbled, looking down.

She wordlessly nodded and transformed into her true appearance, her many sprites descending upon the scene to help turn the entire field into a blizzard. His teeth chattered violently and he tried to blink the ice away from his lashes, wondering why he hadn't put a jacket on.

Thankfully, the process only took a minute and with a kiss to the beak of the adamantoise, it was frozen solid. The scantily clad ice women nodded at him for confirmation and then vanished, drizzling down a last sprinkle of snow. The sky cleared and what remained was a glacier…in the middle of a desert.

"I can't help but to feel we're sweeping the dirt under the rug," Ignis spoke first, taking a jacket off. Of course only he would think to bring a parka on a trip to the summer seaside. "The ice will surely melt, leaving us with the same conundrum as before."

Noctis sighed, nodding and heading back to the car. "Yeah, I know. And no need to beret me on how that's not something a king would do," he added, already seeing Gladio opening his mouth. "But I'm not sure what else we can do. I mean, if there was some way we could get the shell off, then maybe there's still food that could be salvaged but until then…that's all I've got."

Prompto cautiously raised his hand. "Well, I was thinking…what about searing it off? Like a giant blade of fire?"

Noctis actually laughed. "And which one of us is concealing that kind of weapon?"

"Ifirit?" Prompto suggested.

The prince's face immediately fell. "I don't have his blessing. That parkour bastard beats me every time I try to fight him for it! Look, let's just forget about all of this. If it makes you guys happy…I'll ask dad for some help when we get back." Just saying that made him feel ten years younger, too young and immature to take over a kingdom. It was why he stuck with what was easier: music. But that thought just led to feelings of shirking responsibilities.

In an attempt to focus, he instead turned his mind to the upcoming meeting with the Chancellor and to imagining his father's face when he saw his son handling his problems without his help. He hid his smile by turning to the window, letting that feeling of happiness buoy his hopes.

* * *

Seriously, how  _do_ they get the adamantoise meat in the game?! I've been farming that creature for EXP and that idea just came to me, lol. Anyways, I'm going to try to make the next chapter my last one :)


	12. Bros Before Woes

I lied a little; this final chapter ended up being quite lengthy, so to make it easier, I broke it up into two. Take your time and enjoy!

* * *

 

**Bros Before Woes**

To make up for lost time, the group traveled late into the night, the headlights installed on the car keeping the daemons away. At a quarter to midnight, Ignis, who'd finally resumed his driving duties, pulled over to the side of the road. Close by were one of the mysterious glowing rock platforms that designated a camping site. "Alright, everyone out. The Ebony isn't keeping me awake anymore and we're almost out of gas anyways. We'll make camp and then continue on in the morning."

As they tiredly climbed out though, Gladio bit his lip. "Actually…we don't have any camping gear," he announced.

"Not the time for jokes, Gladio," Prompto said, his voice already taking on a fearful high pitch.

"No, I'm serious. The crash…we lost everything. The camping gear, the food…everything in the trunk. All of it." He put a hand over his face in shame.

Noctis stared between him and Ignis, his mouth open. "We spent three weeks at the Hammerhead and neither of you re-upped on supplies?! Oh, but Ignis, I see you didn't hesitate to buy some fucking Ebony!"

"Noctis, do _not_ bring my Ebony into this!" Ignis actually snapped back. "You're part of this trip just as much as anyone else here, why didn't _you_ remember to restock the supplies?"

Noctis threw up his hands, laughing in disbelief. "I pay YOU TWO to do that! I've not shopped a day in my damn life!"

"And therein is the problem," Gladio muttered.

"Screw you!"

"Don't talk to Gladiolus like that, you spoiled little twit!" Ignis bristled.

"Screw you too!" Noctis told him. "All of you! While you're at it, why not get on your knees and—"

"Hey mom, dad, Noct? Can we _please_ just get along?" Said Prompto, his eyes filling with tears.

Ignis gave the prince one last cold glare before huffing off and muttering, "Mum's the word." Gladio and Noctis also walked away from each other, Noctis to go sit back in the car and Gladio to scavenge firewood. Prompto released a breath, wishing desperately for this night to just be over with. He decided to stick with Ignis, who had begun to pace the ground, picking up random plants.

Within an hour, the chef had several vegetable kabobs turning over a fire. At the sight of the flames, Noctis reluctantly pulled himself from his solitude in the car and came to sit with everyone else, though he placed himself beside the blond with a wide gap to avoid Gladio. He took his skewer with a grunted "Thanks" but paused when he noticed what it was.

"I came up with a new recipe," Ignis said tiredly, the last one to sit down on the ground with his food. Instead of eating though, he cast a look to Gladiolus, expecting him to say something.

Gladio swallowed thickly as he stared at the food. Ignis had only been able to find some kind of mushroom but it was decorated with purple splotches and smelled noxious. He trusted Ignis' culinary skills, a man that could take the ordinary far beyond the extraordinary, but this?

He looked back at Ignis and saw the hurt that was slowly seeping into his expression. After the cancellation of his book, he'd begun to need as much positive reinforcement about his cooking as possible. Fine, he'd take one for the team. _Someone_ had to. "I…I can taste-test it for you," Gladio dutifully answered and took a tiny nibble—

While he vomited in the bushes, Noctis cast a discreet look to Prompto and both very slowly pushed their food away from them.

"It wasn't _that_ bad," Ignis mumbled, but his food also only had a nibble taken out of it. He collected the rest of the skewers and threw them hard into the darkness, then removed his jacket and curled up on his side beside the fire. "Let's just get some rest. Sleep will distract us from our hunger."

Removing his own jacket, Noctis also lay down, though guilt and his long car naps kept him from initially falling asleep. While Prompto was out within minutes, Noct stayed awake, unmoving, discreetly watching Gladio who had chosen to keep guard for the night though he looked completely haggard. It was nearly daybreak when he finally drifted off.

The next morning was an overcast one, matching their sour moods. As Ignis pulled away though, Noctis gave a deep breath and spoke out in the silent car. "I'm sorry. Both to you, Gladio, and Ignis. I said some crappy things last night and while I could say it was probably due to the hunger, it doesn't excuse my behavior. Sorry you had to see me like that." He forced himself to look over at Gladio, his face burning and his eyes dropping to instead stare at the tattoo running down the man's arm.

His Shield nodded slowly, then put a hand on his back. Noctis felt his heart lift a little until he said, "I forgive you. But talk to me like that again and your dad's gonna need to find a concubine to replace you."

"Y-yeah, got it," Noctis squeaked.

From the front, Ignis declared, "All's forgiven so let us move on. I see the nearest town is Old Lestallum and the only place to eat there is…the Crow's Nest."

"There's no way we can stop by new Lestallum?" Prompto asked, shivering at the mention of the restaurant.

Ignis shook his head sadly. "It's much too far out of the way. If we still had the flying car, perhaps—"

"I'm _glad_ we don't have it!" Gladio wasted no time interjecting.

"—But since we don't, we'll have to go with what's given while en route," Ignis finished, casting a glance of vexation to the backseat. "Or, since we'll need to gather supplies anyways, I can whip up something. However, if I may be honest, I'm rather famished. I'd rather let someone else do the cooking this time."

When they pulled in at a gas pump, they waited (im)patiently while Ignis filled up the car and then went as a group to the restaurant, keeping a vigilant eye out for any surprises. As with every Crow's Nest, there was a bench with a statue of the mascot posed to take a photo with any who might sit next to him. To be safe, Noctis balled up a fist and punched it, instantly regretting it when he heard something in his hand snap. A list of interesting swears and two Cure spells later, they finally sat down to probably one of the best meals ever; hunger had a way of distorting truth.

Old Lestallum was tiny and their range of wares were almost nonexistent but almost still meant there was something to be had. They purchased what they could and with full stomachs and enough supplies to last a few days, they set off again on their trip.

They wound around seemingly endless miles of road as they continued to head south. The salt in the air informed them they were close before they ever saw a sign welcoming them to Cape Caem. With tense nerves, the car was quiet, even the radio having been turned off. Noctis tried to play nonchalant by hopping up onto the back of his seat, breathing deeply and trying to let the whipping wind ease him. In his chest though, he could feel his heart hammering.

They drove until they came to an old but massive home situated on the edge of a high cliff face hidden by a long driveway lined with trees. Not far from it was a light house. As Noctis was expecting their next stop to be at a tiny cabin, he wasn't prepared for the sudden braking and was instantly thrown first into the back of Ignis' seat and then was nearly thrown out the car altogether.

He was saved when Gladio snatched him by the back of his jacket and hauled him back in. "I swear I'm going to get one of those child harnesses for you," he grunted as he yanked the prince back into his seat. "I don't think I've ever met someone who's been thrown out of moving vehicles as much as you."

From the front seat, Prompto added, "Just don't go all armiger on us again, 'kay? We know we promised to lay down our lives for you, but kinda hard to do that if you kill us first." He softened his words with a lopsided grin over his shoulder and Noctis clicked his teeth, turning his face away with an embarrassed and touched smile.

Getting out the car, Ignis said, "I'll only be a moment so the rest of you can stay here. Unless…Gladiolus, do you wish to come in?" Ignis asked softly.

Noctis looked curiously back at his Shield, who seemed to be dealing with an internal struggle shown only by the way he twisted the corner of his mouth. "Nah. I'm gonna stay. I don't want Iris worrying about me if I tell her why I'm here."

"Yes, I agree with that. Alright then, back in a jiff," Ignis assured them and began the walk up the long driveway.

Prompto asked before Noctis could: "Iris is here? How come?"

Gladio laughed humorlessly, as though it should've been obvious. "Why do you think? That shit the news pulled has made her life a living hell. She didn't want to return back to school and didn't want to be in Insomnia. This place is an old retreat the king uses, usually for docking the yacht, so I got his permission for our assistant Jared to take Iris here. Ignis ran inside though to ask more about this Ardyn—"

"—Wait, wait, wait, my dad has a yacht?!" Noctis cut him off, sitting up straighter. "Oh, I've gotta see this!" He unbuckled his seatbelt and was about to exit the car when Gladio grabbed him again.

"We ain't got time for that! And I don't want my sister having contact with you. I think she needs some time without being reminded of what happened, alright?"

"…But…but…it's a yacht!" Noctis trembled his lip, putting on his best puppy-dog look, the one that always won over his father.

But Gladio was most certainly not Regis and his attempts were ineffective. Shaking his head, his guard added. "It's not really a yacht, actually. It's fancy, but don't go thinking it's a cruise liner."

Noctis finally deflated, folding his arms as he breathed a puff of air up into his fringe. "Well, that sucks. Does it at least have a cool name?"

"Sea Biscuit."

"Damnit, dad, you're so unoriginal!" Noctis threw himself back into the seat and closed his eyes until he finally heard Ignis return.

Pulling away, Ignis told them, "Without giving too much detail about what we're doing here, I was able to gather from Jared that someone matching Ardyn's profile indeed has been renting a cottage close by. It's just a couple of miles away so gear up."

At the advice, Noctis flitted his magic through his fingers, testing each element. Gladio conjured a shield and began to inspect its quality while Prompto oiled and loaded his gun. By the time they pulled over to a hidden spot close to the cabin, they were ready for war.


	13. One More Light

 

**One More Light**

Noctis got out, finally pumped with adrenaline, but Gladio threw an arm out to block him. With his eyes, he informed him that he would be leading the advance. Noctis almost retorted about what was the purpose of a king (currently a prince) leading if he didn't actually lead, but the mission had entered silent mode. Swallowing his protests, he followed after.

Ducking under a window, Gladiolus rose slowly and peered inside, but the curtains were drawn tight. Instead, he crept around to the back door and paused. Crouching on one side of the door, he motioned for Noctis to still remain beside him while gesturing for Ignis and Prompto to poise themselves on the other side. Once ready, he gave a single nod, holding up three fingers. Two. One—

The door flung itself open and there Ardyn stood, dressed the same as he had been the day they'd met him. "Hello there! Oh my, you're the first to pay me a house visit since I moved into the neighborhood. I'm rather flattered! Ah, but where are my manners? Do come in, it's quite the scorcher out there today." Though he said this, he removed not a single item from his layers of clothes. Leaving the door open, he turned around and regally swept back inside.

Thrown off guard by his disconcerting attitude to their infiltration, the group shared confused shrugs before slowly following him in.

As Noctis looked around, he summed up the house's décor as too much, just like everything else about its resident. Elaborate and antique furniture befitting the Citadel outfitted the living room. One corner had a large book shelf filled with various curios that seemed to have little relation to each other. He saw Oracle coins, a multitude of other debased bank notes that were no longer used in Lucis, a rainbow of Cactuar dolls, a coffee cup holding the plume of a Phoenix Down, and a handful of stones, though none of them looked valuable or even attractive. He swore one of them was actually just a hunk of concrete. Like their first meeting, Ardyn was dutifully continuing to confuse him.

"Please sit and I'll bring us some tea," Ardyn chirped from another room, presumably the kitchen. He hummed loudly as he fiddled in there, a deep vibrato of a voice that was relishing the famous chocobo tune.

The four sat down and instantly put their heads together. No sooner had they though, Ardyn bustled back into the room, a silver tray laden with cups and a teapot ready…as though he'd been prepared for them. "Oh, were you lads about to have a discussion? By all means, don't let me disrupt you!" This was said as he continued to present each their cup without actually removing himself from the vicinity.

The silence continued to stretch over the room until finally he finished and had a seat in an ornate armchair. He took a sip of his drink first, lightly smacking his lips with a satisfied "Ahh!" He smiled fondly at the cup's contents, informing them, "Sylleblossom blue tea, imported from the fields of Tenebrae! Niflheim now controls the supply so it's quite the rare commodity. I daresay no one in Lucis has had it in the last, oh, thirteen years," he flicked his eyes at Noctis, who curled a lip. "But I assume you didn't come here to discuss tea with me," he moved on with a mock-pout. "So, do tell, what brings you to my humble abode?"

Noctis acted first, throwing the cover of the _Meteor_ magazine from a few days ago down on the table. " _That_ ," he said through clenched teeth.

Ardyn leaned forward and took a quick glance before looking back up. "What? I see nothing but a charming photo of a girl hugging what appears to be her hero. Nothing untoward about it."

"'Nothing untoward?' That picture nearly ruined me!" Noctis yelled, slapping away Ignis' hand when his advisor reached out. "You gave it to the magazine's owner and told him that the fallout from it would be your payment. You _knew_ how it would look!"

"I said that? Oh my, my memory isn't the best…especially when one's been alive as long as I have," the Chancellor put a hand to his forehead, as though trying to clear a fog.

"We know you work for the Nifs so cut the shit," Gladio said with cold, amber eyes. "Did the Empire put you up to this?"

Before Ardyn could answer, Prompto added, "And what was up with the autographs? Was that supposed to be some part of the plan? If the Empire wants to take over Lucis, why not just, I don't know, do it instead of all this playing around?"

To that last part, Ignis stomped his foot and threw him a withering glare. It was unspoken but they all knew that should the Empire really want to destroy Lucis, they could. They already had bases in every Lucian region; it was only a matter of time before they figured out a way to bring the Wall down and conquered Insomnia as well. This depressing fact was one that many tried not to discuss.

With tact, Ardyn politely danced around the last question and answered the others. "Niflheim had nothing to do with anything as of recent. I just personally wanted an autograph. I wasn't lying when I said you were my favorites. Ah, by the way, since I have all four of you here again…would you mind signing my albums? I even got the collector's editions!" He made to get up but Noctis' answer seated him.

"We're not signing anything else for you. Give us some answers or else we'll—"

"Or else you'll…what? Kill me? Your precious Cor Leonis isn't the only one with the nickname 'the Immortal', you know," Ardyn laughed.

Noctis had no idea what he was talking about but he felt Gladiolus go still. Realizing he might've been close to stepping on a mine, he took Ardyn's approach and navigated around the comment. "If the Empire had nothing to do with the issue of the photo then why do it? What do you have to gain?"

Ardyn shrugged, taking another sip of the blue tea. "Nothing but entertainment. Since you know I'm part of the Niflheim army, you'll know as well that militaries aren't havens of fun. In my case, they're even less as there aren't any soldiers to talk to. Magiteks don't exactly make for stimulating conversation."

No one in the group noticed when Prompto bit his lip.

"So, any other questions?" Ardyn asked pleasantly.

"Why me?" Noctis finally asked. "If I'm supposedly one of your favorites, why do this?"

A new light shone in Ardyn's golden eyes, the suddenness of it making the prince very nearly summon his weapons. His theatrical voice took on a note of challenge as he said, "I did it to test you, Noctis. To test your resolve. To ensure you would at last be a worthy opponent for me. Let me not lie to you; you and I are not friends, no matter how much I genuinely do enjoy your music. There will come a day when you and I will face each other and it will be a fight to the death, but not necessarily yours or mine. No, history has already written that part…

"It will be a fight to decide whether this world lives or dies. Yes, you heard that right. It will be a battle for the very fate of Eos. But! That shall be enough for today," he clapped his hands together, the tense mood instantly lifted. "Everything else will be revealed in due time. However, one piece of advice: you do no justice to that outcome sitting around penning your pretty poetry. You will be a king one day and right now, you've inspired little confidence and trust within your people. But then again, what do I know? I'm clearly not a king…" he trailed off, looking absentmindedly out a window.

Taking the opening, Ignis ushered the group out the door. "We shall talk again, I'm sure," he said to the redhead who answered only with a light tilt of the chin.

Back in the car, Noctis took the passenger front seat for the first time and dug into the glove box. As Prompto took the backseat, he asked, "What are you hunting for?"

"The Cosmogony. This Ardyn…he sounds like he's an Oracle," Noctis said distractedly, flipping through the index at the back. In the I's, there was no Izunia, Ardyn.

"I thought the Oracle could only be a girl?" Prompto responded, leaning forward to also take a look. "Besides, how do we even know if what he just said was true? That guy sounds kinda nuts to me. I think he'll end up making us nuts too if we take him seriously!"

"An Oracle can be male as well," Ignis answered as he drove, putting up the roof of the car. It were as though the dark news had literally changed the weather as well, as the sky looked primed for rain. "It's rare though, hence why Lady Lunafreya was born an Oracle, inheriting it from her mother, even though Prince Ravus was firstborn."

Unsatisfied with finding any results, Noctis threw the book back in the box. "Do you think anything he said holds any merit though? That part about us fighting…I mean, yeah, I wanted to kick his ass but what does that have to do with the fate of the world?"

"I was wondering about that too," Gladio said, looking over. "That sounded like a threat to me. Only reason I didn't chop his head off right then was because of that 'immortal' comment. We're gonna need to do some more research on this guy before we take him on."

"Yeah…" Noctis quietly agreed. "But if he's somehow right and isn't just crazy, what's about to happen with Eos? And not just that, but he even told me…" he swallowed. "He even told me I had to give up singing. Do you think I really have to?" He asked to his advisor.

When Ignis looked over with soft green eyes, he already knew the answer. "I do think it's about time, Noct. We've cleared our names and the album is doing quite well. Let's end on a high note."

Turning around to the other two, Noctis saw both Prompto and Gladio were grim-faced but were slowly nodding. And so it was decided.

Turning back around, he tried to push down the emotions that a prince is never supposed to show.

~.~.~

"HEEEELLOOOO, TENEBRAE! Royal Pain in the Ass is in. The. HOUSE!" Noctis shouted from the stage, looking down on a crowd that was packed to the gills. Following the meeting with Ardyn, they'd announced their disbandment date publicly. Today would be their final show and as such, people from every country had come to see them off. It almost made him want to turn around and say it was all just a joke, but such a fake-out wouldn't be forgiven. He had to see this through to the end.

They played everything in their short discography but saved the best for last. Looking down to the front row, it was easy to spot the woman in white but even without wearing her usual color, Luna was ecstatically waving two glow sticks. On one side of her stood Gentiana, who hadn't moved throughout the entire show, her eyes perpetually closed. It'd unnerved the people next to her, who had shuffled to the side to get away from the statuesque woman.

On Luna's other side was Ravus, who's eternally sour mouth was naturally turned downwards. He'd demanded to attend to keep an eye on his sister and to ensure she didn't change her mind on marrying the prince. However, after three hours of hearing her scream in his ear, he honestly had no fucks left to give as to who she married. He just wanted to be _done_ with this.

The sweet song, "Lucian Lullaby" wound down and the glow sticks that had been gently swaying began to wave again. It was finally time for the closing. "Before we go, I want a very special person to come up here and sing this last song with me," Noctis said and on cue, a technician shone a light on Luna. Her face appeared on the screens surrounding the concert hall and she blushed like a bride.

He had intended to officially propose to her here, but that was a gone dream. Still, he wanted to do something special for her. Once up, he began the opening notes for their number one song, "LunafreYEAH!" The lyrics still sung like a love song but as they sang the song together, she didn't seem to mind. The words were still ambiguous enough to speak of a close friendship and that was all that Noctis wanted to convey. As they sang though, he realized Luna had a terrible ear for music, but as the beloved princess, nobody would care. He tried not to wince every time she went off-key.

When the song was over, all five came together with linked hands and bowed repeatedly. The lights were dramatically turned off one by one and Noctis didn't hide his tears as he saw the others were crying as well. Even Gladio sniffled. At long last, the light shining over them went out and in the dark, Noctis left the stage, leaving behind the thundering, exhilarating, heartbreaking chants for "RPA!"

When the light was finally restored, they were gone.

* * *

And that was Unravel! I hope everyone enjoyed it. I have a few other possible comedy stories I might do, though if so, they'll be shorter. My next primary focus is on a serious story centered around Prompto, which I hope to start posting shortly.

Again, thank you so much for reading!


End file.
